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kwansbff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is brilliant. While the characters are flawed, I just came to love them in the way one loves their family. The form is genius and fits both the story and narrator perfectly. If you’re looking for good books with unique forms— this is it.
I will say that a lot of what I enjoyed was the form, although I did come to like the story as well. It wasn’t my favorite aspect of the book. I did learn quite a bit about a place I hadn’t known much about before, though, which was very interesting. I also found the ending a little lackluster.
[Note: some eh jokes & heed the content warning]
I will say that a lot of what I enjoyed was the form, although I did come to like the story as well. It wasn’t my favorite aspect of the book. I did learn quite a bit about a place I hadn’t known much about before, though, which was very interesting. I also found the ending a little lackluster.
[Note: some eh jokes & heed the content warning]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
humblesunset's review against another edition
4.0
This was my beginning of trying to be more mulit-culturally diverse through many avenues, including literature. What a great way to start. This was a great narrative, experimental, fun, and hilarious. Loved it.
akallabeth's review against another edition
reflective
sad
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
i'm pretty delighted by this novel's construction.
we are following sarah nour el-din, a lebanese-american woman, as she tries to write her memoirs. there's plenty to write about - her complicated family, growing up against the backdrop of the lebanese civil war, her messy love life - but sarah struggles to put it on paper. i, the divine is entirely composed of the first chapters sarah writes and then discards. over the course of the story, she attempts many different approaches, titles, styles, and even languages.
there's certainly a risk for something like this to come off gimmicky, but i thought the story was very cleverly constructed, and the 'shtick' was used to its full potential to slowly reveal new facets of both sarah herself and her family. i ended the novel very fond of them, which i can't say was strictly the case at the start.
i definitely had my issues with it (sarah's inner monologues have several incongruous moments of 'oh a man wrote this, right', i thought the very last chapter was kind of weak compared to the rest of it - to name a few) but overall i found it an enjoyable read, and it kept my attention.
(i will say that some of the blurbs/quotes from other authors/etc make this seem a little lighter than it in truth is; there's definitely funny moments and the overall tone is hopeful, but it's a pretty melancholy work, and deals with some heavy themes. 'civil war' and 'tense family situation' covers most bases, but i will specifically mention one thing, tw-wise:there is a very graphic rape scene that goes on for several pages. i don't think it's fetishistically written or anything, but i'm also not convinced it was necessary to include.</spoiler)
we are following sarah nour el-din, a lebanese-american woman, as she tries to write her memoirs. there's plenty to write about - her complicated family, growing up against the backdrop of the lebanese civil war, her messy love life - but sarah struggles to put it on paper. i, the divine is entirely composed of the first chapters sarah writes and then discards. over the course of the story, she attempts many different approaches, titles, styles, and even languages.
there's certainly a risk for something like this to come off gimmicky, but i thought the story was very cleverly constructed, and the 'shtick' was used to its full potential to slowly reveal new facets of both sarah herself and her family. i ended the novel very fond of them, which i can't say was strictly the case at the start.
i definitely had my issues with it (sarah's inner monologues have several incongruous moments of 'oh a man wrote this, right', i thought the very last chapter was kind of weak compared to the rest of it - to name a few) but overall i found it an enjoyable read, and it kept my attention.
(i will say that some of the blurbs/quotes from other authors/etc make this seem a little lighter than it in truth is; there's definitely funny moments and the overall tone is hopeful, but it's a pretty melancholy work, and deals with some heavy themes. 'civil war' and 'tense family situation' covers most bases, but i will specifically mention one thing, tw-wise:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
sarahmp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
samsterrr's review against another edition
another one i'm having a hard time putting down...
louisehowe's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Domestic abuse
ashley73922's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I've read this year--wish I had discovered Alameddine's work years ago.
fatima13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was a rather interesting read. I liked the way it was written, and it perfectly reflected the main charater's state of mind. It also showed how oir memories can be different than reality. The writer did a great job crafting the charter.
However I have a couple of problems with the book. It could have been around 50 pages short; I got tired towards the end and felt as though there is nothing more to be added to the story. In addition, the amount of affairs mentioned is way too much, and they were never shown negatively. Personally, I don't like this of the fact that it reflects part of society.
However I have a couple of problems with the book. It could have been around 50 pages short; I got tired towards the end and felt as though there is nothing more to be added to the story. In addition, the amount of affairs mentioned is way too much, and they were never shown negatively. Personally, I don't like this of the fact that it reflects part of society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War
starscattered's review against another edition
I thought the writing was lovely but I struggled with the constant first chapters, it felt a bit disjointed so I struggled to connect with the characters.