Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

13 reviews

martinjen98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, War, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, and Mental illness

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Gore, Islamophobia, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual content

imaginefishes's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

Just like The Kite Runner, this book hit me right where it hurts. Hosseini’s writing style was a welcome sight, and I deeply enjoyed reading about another facet of Afghan living and history in this book. While the gut-wrenching moments here were perhaps not as severe as in The Kite Runner (after all, that sort of betrayal is hard to beat), the domestic abuse and oppression of women delineated in its pages left me breathless and at times, fearful with anxiety. We follow the story of Mariam at the start, and I was confused initially as to why the perspective began to change from chapter to chapter (between Mariam and Laila), until the moment it clicked into place. This story is heartbreaking, once again touching on the idea of parental love (or rather, its lack thereof) but from a female lens instead, where powers continuously attempt to strip them of their agency and how these women act in different ways to manage it, one in subservient acceptance and one in defiant resistance. I was drawn in from the beginning, and my attention would drift to the book and its characters up to the moment I finished its story. Another brilliant, masterfully woven story by Hosseini about the tribulations of Afghanistan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexism, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, War, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Murder, Ableism, Classism, and Confinement

I was hoping that they would both be able to get the happy ending they deserved, but alas, in life, you don’t always get what you wish for. It is tragic, and yet, there is a poetic beauty to it.

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gore, War, Violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Rape, Abandonment, Abortion, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, and Infidelity

mirandyli's review

dark emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

I reread this book recently, about 12 years after reading it in high school. It is still as devastatingly sad yet beautiful. It will probably break your heart more than The Kite Runner did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, War, Murder, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, and Miscarriage

masucolmusings's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

so emotional!!! what got me was jalil’s letter to mariam.

the fact that he died and never heard from her again……..and laila’s naming her next child after mariam………

tears

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, War, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Genocide, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Abandonment, and Suicide

arthur_ant18's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, War, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Torture, Suicide, Child death, Murder, Rape, Islamophobia, and Genocide

spencerjie's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

this book is, understandably, incredibly dark. taking place in war-torn Afghanistan, these personal stories get to the root of the effects of war, traditionalism, womanhood, religion, and so much more. gorgeous prose and insightful storytelling. i would be very cautious and cognizant that you are in a decent mental health space before you read this book because it is nothing short of brutal from beginning to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Vomit, Violence, and War

ermina12's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Rape, Islamophobia, War, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

afnans_break's review

Couldn’t even finish it. The basic message and theme of this book is how abused women are in Islam, and how secularism is the cure. The author is using his brief time in soviet Afghanistan to exploit western Islamophobia  post 9/11. The book can be summarized by this very common saying, “you’re not forced to wear that here, you can take it off.” 
Overall bad vibes, and only Westerners will enjoy this. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia