Reviews

The Frightened Ones by Dima Wannous

leahhhhhhhhhhh22's review

slow-paced

1.0

maya_jamaleddine's review

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

remigves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

thejuliette's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

sumi_the_polyglot's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

kendramb's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

tullykate_03's review

2.0

Requires a week of reflection once finished.

samisal's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

tommiva's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

erubin's review

2.0

The Frightened Ones dives into the life of Suleima, a woman who lives in constant fear. She fears fear and it controls her life to the point where she can’t complete everyday tasks without panic and medication. She meets a man, Naseem, in the waiting room of her therapist who she falls in love with, or rather she falls in love with the idea of him that she has created in her mind. Naseem gives her a copy of his incomplete book manuscript and Suleima starts confusing her life with the life of the narrator, believing Naseem has ‘stolen’ her life for his book. This leads her to question her existence and her memories.
Overall, I thought the book was interesting- it touched on the issues in Syria and the long term mental health effects of tragic events on families and individuals. I liked the concept of dual narrators- with Suleima’s perspective and Nasseem’s manuscript- as well as the subject concept but it just fell short. Since the two narrators- Suleima and Nasseem’s character, Salma, were intended to be very similar, it was a little hard to keep their stories straight. In the end, it was a bit of a letdown and abrupt ending.