Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

58 reviews

znvisser's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

My expectations for this were high based on the ratings and that is always a tricky challenge to make true. For me, this novel consisted of two parts and the second half was definitely better. 

The book starts out quite dialogue-heavy and at times it even felt like five year old twitter discourse in a novel. And - despite the obvious reasons for it which were in fact interesting and well-thought out - I felt Malak and Kees were too similar for too long (kept forgetting which details and man belonged to which woman) and their boyfriends were even harder to distinguish; in contrast, Jenna’s character stood out way more from the start, despite her more limited “screentime”. But while Malak and Kees’ stories do bounce off each other and dance together, Jenna is fairly seperated from them and mostly appearing as vehicle for some extra themes and subplots. Later on she is worked better into the overall story, but it still felt slightly disjointed and I feel she could’ve added more to this if the author were less busy drawing parallels. 

Nevertheless, emotionally it picks up in the second half and that is where this story shines all along: the fights are often unhinged and always heartbreaking, and although mostly shown in glimpses, I loved the sibling relationships, and also the little pieces within chapters where we zoom out from the three friends and an omniscient narrator reveals a new emotional layer. Because of these strengths, this really was a a promising debut, making me curious to see what El-Wardany will come up with next.
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ericarobinson's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced

4.25

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literarylaila's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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csleeds's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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leah_alexandra's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.0

This was a really frustrating read. I feel like it was sold as a book about female friendships, when it’s really more about romantic relationships, and abusive ones at that. The rift happens so early—we barely get time with the actual friendship, so it was hard to feel invested. And then the reconciliation at the end was so rushed and dramatic. There was hardly any emotional work put in to repair the friendship. To me it felt unrealistic. And the direct contrasting between the Muslim, non-white men being misogynistic and harmful, and the white men being perfect, gentle, and understanding was tough to read. At least the three girls’ fathers seemed like caring men—where were those traits in the younger men? My favorite parts were the descriptions of Cairo. That’s where I saw the author’s voice shine the most. 
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livlosiewicz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

5.0

 Pros: 
·I loved the characters and their relationships! Distinct, lovable, and flawed- the perfect combination 
·I learned a lot about Muslim culture from this book- yes, I mean hard facts but mostly I mean the chance to step into the characters’ shoes and consider the nuances of their situations 
 
Cons: 
·I get why she did this from a plot/theme perspective, but it’s notable that the Muslim men love interests are mainly bad 
 
Recommendation: I recommend this book to people who enjoy deep, relationship and character-based novels. I really liked meeting these characters and learning more about them and their cultures. Fans of A Woman is No Man should consider picking this one up. Content warning for intimate partner violence! Avoid if you want something fast-paced and more plot focused, or if you want something upbeat! I will note that while the content was heavy I did not find the book depressing. 
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pipbiz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

 These Impossible Things looks at three British Muslim women from different ethnic backgrounds - Pakistani, Egyptian and Palestinian. Early on in the novel their friendship fractures and most of the book is spent with them individually dealing with various personal and relationship issues, until a crisis brings them together again. While I enjoyed my reading experience and found each woman’s story arc interesting if often heavy - rape, domestic abuse, unwanted pregnancy and the challenges of interfaith relationships - one major thing bothered me. The Muslim men were virtually all portrayed in a negative light - abusive, controlling, judgemental - while the white men were all very liberal, progressive, socially aware and - for want of a better term - woke. While I can partially understand why the book was written this way I wish there had been a little more balance and nuance - a white male exhibiting sexism, racism or Islamophobia; a Muslim man supporting his female friends or family by standing up to those who tried to restrict them. 
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neinselen's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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katrinarose's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

3.0

This was such a nuanced heartfelt book about friendship, family, religion, and finding yourself. I think this book has excellent representation for Muslim women diaspora and would hit extra hard for these readers. I really liked all the characters, they were all unique and well developed. However for a book sold on female friendship, it was disappointing that the majority of the book they were not friends. I understand that drove home the point of the book in the end and it was really impactful, but I missed the friendship. Also, this book was so sad; I almost cried several times. Overall would recommend if you like sad books with these themes.
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