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4.57 AVERAGE
4.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Death, Genocide
Abulhawa has done it again. Another relentless and devastating novel that is so so so important.
You begin the novel learning that Nahr is jailed in solitary confinement by the Israeli government. The novel weave between the present her in "the cube" and her complicated and incredible life. You slowly learn the circumstances that led to her imprisonment. Love, belonging, home, nationality, religion, family this has it all in an powerfully nuanced story about Palestine.
You begin the novel learning that Nahr is jailed in solitary confinement by the Israeli government. The novel weave between the present her in "the cube" and her complicated and incredible life. You slowly learn the circumstances that led to her imprisonment. Love, belonging, home, nationality, religion, family this has it all in an powerfully nuanced story about Palestine.
I did the first couple books of this as an audiobook and I do NOT recommend. I didn't like the audio narrator, and it made me hate almost all the characters right off the bat because she read them with such a deadpan and, in the case of Um-Buraq, an incredibly annoying nasally voice. When I switched to regular reading my whole perspective changed, and the book was much more enjoyable.
I spent a good part of the beginning of this book not sure how I felt about Nahr. She explicitly sneers at "the Jews", and laughs about a woman's grandparents being in the holocaust. She worships Sadaam Hussein. It made me so uncomfortable I wasn't sure if I liked her or the book at all.
But I pressed on, and felt grateful that the book wasn't presenting us with a squeaky-clean, perfect heroine. These elements aren't random, they're supposed to make us uncomfortable. Nahr is a full, flawed human being, and that's one of the things that floored me about this book. ALL of the characters (that matter), are fully, richly developed with astounding arcs. Whether or not you flinch
at these aspects of her character, she does not deserve what happens to her. And I think that's the point.
Once Nahr makes it to Palestine after a lifetime of displacement, I couldn't put the book down. It's shocking, as someone still learning about this, what Palestinians live with daily. The fear of death, imprisonment without trial, constant checkpoints, harassment, having your home flat-out stolen, or starved of water, the list goes on.
Sweeping historical narratives like this always make me so emotional in the end. You spend a whole lifetime with these characters, and then when they're out of your life, it feels like something is missing. That's the hallmark of a great story, and even better storytelling.
4/5!
I spent a good part of the beginning of this book not sure how I felt about Nahr. She explicitly sneers at "the Jews", and laughs about a woman's grandparents being in the holocaust. She worships Sadaam Hussein. It made me so uncomfortable I wasn't sure if I liked her or the book at all.
But I pressed on, and felt grateful that the book wasn't presenting us with a squeaky-clean, perfect heroine. These elements aren't random, they're supposed to make us uncomfortable. Nahr is a full, flawed human being, and that's one of the things that floored me about this book. ALL of the characters (that matter), are fully, richly developed with astounding arcs. Whether or not you flinch
at these aspects of her character, she does not deserve what happens to her. And I think that's the point.
Once Nahr makes it to Palestine after a lifetime of displacement, I couldn't put the book down. It's shocking, as someone still learning about this, what Palestinians live with daily. The fear of death, imprisonment without trial, constant checkpoints, harassment, having your home flat-out stolen, or starved of water, the list goes on.
Sweeping historical narratives like this always make me so emotional in the end. You spend a whole lifetime with these characters, and then when they're out of your life, it feels like something is missing. That's the hallmark of a great story, and even better storytelling.
4/5!
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 ⭐️
I would highly recommend you read this book. It is the story of a Palestinian woman in israeli confinement. It was a very interesting and informative read. To read about it from the perspective of a Palestinian woman was very powerful. It is a VERY heavy read, but if reading about it is heavy and uncomfortable then you can only imagine what it is like for those experiencing it daily.
it is supposed to be a dystopian form of story telling but unfortunately it is not far from the truth of current and past events at all!
Reading and supporting the writing of palestinians is a form of activism that is extremely accessible, so get to it!
I would highly recommend you read this book. It is the story of a Palestinian woman in israeli confinement. It was a very interesting and informative read. To read about it from the perspective of a Palestinian woman was very powerful. It is a VERY heavy read, but if reading about it is heavy and uncomfortable then you can only imagine what it is like for those experiencing it daily.
it is supposed to be a dystopian form of story telling but unfortunately it is not far from the truth of current and past events at all!
Reading and supporting the writing of palestinians is a form of activism that is extremely accessible, so get to it!
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Intense book with harsh realities and truths