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emzee_strygrph's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.75
A Harrowing Tale of Resilience
Nadia Murad's "The Last Girl" is a harrowing yet ultimately inspiring memoir. It weaves together a peaceful past with a brutal present, taking us from Nadia's idyllic childhood in a Yazidi village to the horrors she endured under ISIS captivity.
A Lost Paradise: The Yazidi Culture
The book opens with a glimpse into the Yazidi faith, a unique religion distinct from Islam. We learn about their close-knit community, rich traditions, and reverence for the Peacock Angel, Melek Taus – a figure tragically misinterpreted by ISIS. This sets the stage for the devastation that unfolds when ISIS arrives.
The Crushing Grip of ISIS
The narrative takes a sharp turn as ISIS storms Nadia's village. We witness the brutality firsthand – the separation of families, the senseless killings, and the horror of sexual enslavement. Nadia's family is shattered, with brothers and mother suffering a terrible fate.
A Fight for Survival
Despite the darkness, Nadia emerges as a beacon of resilience. She details the physical and emotional torment of captivity, but also her unwavering spirit. We encounter other Yazidi women who share her suffering, forming a bond of sisterhood amidst the despair. The kindness of a Sunni Muslim family who helps Nadia escape offers a glimmer of hope.
A Call to Action
"The Last Girl" is not just a story of survival; it's a call to action. Nadia's powerful voice exposes the Yazidi genocide and the devastating impact of ISIS ideology. Through her advocacy as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, she fights for justice and ensures the world "never forgets" these atrocities.
A Lasting Impact
The book lingers long after the final page. We remember Nadia's courage, the strength of the Yazidi community, and the importance of speaking out against violence and religious extremism.
"The Last Girl" is a testament to the human spirit's ability to overcome unimaginable hardship. It serves as a reminder of the importance of fighting for what's right and advocating for those who have no voice.
Nadia Murad's "The Last Girl" is a harrowing yet ultimately inspiring memoir. It weaves together a peaceful past with a brutal present, taking us from Nadia's idyllic childhood in a Yazidi village to the horrors she endured under ISIS captivity.
A Lost Paradise: The Yazidi Culture
The book opens with a glimpse into the Yazidi faith, a unique religion distinct from Islam. We learn about their close-knit community, rich traditions, and reverence for the Peacock Angel, Melek Taus – a figure tragically misinterpreted by ISIS. This sets the stage for the devastation that unfolds when ISIS arrives.
The Crushing Grip of ISIS
The narrative takes a sharp turn as ISIS storms Nadia's village. We witness the brutality firsthand – the separation of families, the senseless killings, and the horror of sexual enslavement. Nadia's family is shattered, with brothers and mother suffering a terrible fate.
A Fight for Survival
Despite the darkness, Nadia emerges as a beacon of resilience. She details the physical and emotional torment of captivity, but also her unwavering spirit. We encounter other Yazidi women who share her suffering, forming a bond of sisterhood amidst the despair. The kindness of a Sunni Muslim family who helps Nadia escape offers a glimmer of hope.
A Call to Action
"The Last Girl" is not just a story of survival; it's a call to action. Nadia's powerful voice exposes the Yazidi genocide and the devastating impact of ISIS ideology. Through her advocacy as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, she fights for justice and ensures the world "never forgets" these atrocities.
A Lasting Impact
The book lingers long after the final page. We remember Nadia's courage, the strength of the Yazidi community, and the importance of speaking out against violence and religious extremism.
"The Last Girl" is a testament to the human spirit's ability to overcome unimaginable hardship. It serves as a reminder of the importance of fighting for what's right and advocating for those who have no voice.
madelyn32's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.25
crescent_moon22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Nadia tells her story with us as the reader every painful part to illustrate the atrocities that happen to her people.
ninabina's review against another edition
5.0
There are no words that can truly instill the fear and sorrow that I’m sure Nadia must have felt throughout the atrocities that she has survived. And yet, I believe that this book brings you as close as possible to feeling what Nadia felt. Fair warning— I got through the book with a couple of days, but I had to stop several times while reading because I was crying too hard to continue. So, be prepared lol.
The book is paced very well and beautifully written, and though it may be a difficult read, I believe that it’s an important one. I hope that in reading this, people will realize our shared humanity and do what they can to help those in need like the Yazidi people.
The book is paced very well and beautifully written, and though it may be a difficult read, I believe that it’s an important one. I hope that in reading this, people will realize our shared humanity and do what they can to help those in need like the Yazidi people.
ibbyyyyy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, War, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Sexism, Genocide, Grief, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
oao's review against another edition
I read only a few chapters back in early 2019. This book is where I first heard of Yazidism, I learned things I didn’t know before, of which I appreciate.
Almost right off the bat, we see that the author had many siblings and her mother was sick of the seemingly endless cycle of pregnancy, labour, childcare. Her father opposed contraception so mother had to take the pills in secrecy. Not only that, her father had a second wife and wasn’t supporting his first wife (aka author’s mother) and her children. The author expressed no criticism and went on to help explaining her father’s logic, ‘we are poor so human capital is the only resource we could count on to work the land and make a living’. However, not far from here into this book, she mentioned most of tomatoes always ended up rotting in the field (because ppl can’t afford to buy them? Sorry I forgot the exact cause). So it’s pointless to have that many people to grow that many crops anyway? The only attempt to justify her father’s religiously endorsed penis-centring action is not even based on sound reasoning?
Then I flipped to the part where she was in a camp before leaving for Germany. She mentioned that Germany paid her plane ticket and some other help she received, what astonished me was she can say all that without a shred of gratitude. I know Germany had done a good and arguably the right thing and ofc no one should expect anything in return for doing the right thing, but that’s no excuse to take it for granted. I mean, people would even say thank you to strangers who hold the doors for them right?
But as always, the credit and gratitude goes to God (in this case the peacock angel?). I honestly think it’s very effed up when people thank god for winning a competition or surviving when other people didn’t make it. What are they insinuating about the other people in the same match, the same camp? Did they do anything wrong? Didn’t pray hard enough? Not pure enough? Have sinned? How are you, the supposedly ‘chosen one’, in what way more special and deserving to be favoured over the others by god.
It’s very cringing to me when people give no reflection and develop no insight on toxic norm/culture/tradition/religion that indoctrinated them from a young age and express explicitly ‘I love it, that’s where I belong, it might look bad but it’s actually real good’. Unfortunately a lota supposedly liberal western white folks eat that stuff right up and moved with tears thinking that ‘they are so brave so unapologetic to embrace something so different from what I know’, and shoved all that bubbling criticism of toxicity under the good o rug of ’cultural relativism’ which helped ease their cognitive dissonance between ‘ima forward-thinking good person’ and fundamental bias of ‘some people just don’t deserve it’.
I’m sure Nadia is more than what I read about her in just a few chapters and this book probably also bound by ‘Islamophobia-phobia’. She will keep learning and developing more opinions. But this book was nudging my general impression of a demography I don’t know much in a negative direction so I stopped reading.
Almost right off the bat, we see that the author had many siblings and her mother was sick of the seemingly endless cycle of pregnancy, labour, childcare. Her father opposed contraception so mother had to take the pills in secrecy. Not only that, her father had a second wife and wasn’t supporting his first wife (aka author’s mother) and her children. The author expressed no criticism and went on to help explaining her father’s logic, ‘we are poor so human capital is the only resource we could count on to work the land and make a living’. However, not far from here into this book, she mentioned most of tomatoes always ended up rotting in the field (because ppl can’t afford to buy them? Sorry I forgot the exact cause). So it’s pointless to have that many people to grow that many crops anyway? The only attempt to justify her father’s religiously endorsed penis-centring action is not even based on sound reasoning?
Then I flipped to the part where she was in a camp before leaving for Germany. She mentioned that Germany paid her plane ticket and some other help she received, what astonished me was she can say all that without a shred of gratitude. I know Germany had done a good and arguably the right thing and ofc no one should expect anything in return for doing the right thing, but that’s no excuse to take it for granted. I mean, people would even say thank you to strangers who hold the doors for them right?
But as always, the credit and gratitude goes to God (in this case the peacock angel?). I honestly think it’s very effed up when people thank god for winning a competition or surviving when other people didn’t make it. What are they insinuating about the other people in the same match, the same camp? Did they do anything wrong? Didn’t pray hard enough? Not pure enough? Have sinned? How are you, the supposedly ‘chosen one’, in what way more special and deserving to be favoured over the others by god.
It’s very cringing to me when people give no reflection and develop no insight on toxic norm/culture/tradition/religion that indoctrinated them from a young age and express explicitly ‘I love it, that’s where I belong, it might look bad but it’s actually real good’. Unfortunately a lota supposedly liberal western white folks eat that stuff right up and moved with tears thinking that ‘they are so brave so unapologetic to embrace something so different from what I know’, and shoved all that bubbling criticism of toxicity under the good o rug of ’cultural relativism’ which helped ease their cognitive dissonance between ‘ima forward-thinking good person’ and fundamental bias of ‘some people just don’t deserve it’.
I’m sure Nadia is more than what I read about her in just a few chapters and this book probably also bound by ‘Islamophobia-phobia’. She will keep learning and developing more opinions. But this book was nudging my general impression of a demography I don’t know much in a negative direction so I stopped reading.
ashleymader's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
aleloca1452's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0