Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Eine Nebensache by Adania Shibli

13 reviews

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

4.0

I love sad and emotional novels and yet never in my life have a read a book that caused such dread that the contents of this book settled deep in me like a stone. Current events and the books proximity to Rafah do play heavily into how impactful it was but, even without that, this novel would still evoke such strong emotions in me. The first part actually gave me nightmares of this happening to my loved ones. If anyone is wanting to read about the Palestinian experience, specifically a more historic view point, I would recommend this book. I am glad it was so short though because I don’t think I could’ve handled much more of the intensity specifically in the last two pages it really got to me. I wanted to read it twice in a row because of how short it is to fully catch everything but I think I need to take a break and read something lighter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Racism, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Confinement, Colonisation, and Murder

Moderate: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, and Torture

Minor: War

manicake's review against another edition

4.0

Twisted my stomach. I almost had to put it away at a point, but I’m happy I pushed through. Free Palestine! 🇵🇸

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Rape and Grief

joymargot's review against another edition

As others have said, it somehow doesn’t feel right to give this a star rating.

An uncomfortable read, but an important one. I confess I wasn’t completely drawn in by the mundane matter-of-fact writing style, but it serves as a contrast to the ending of each chapter.

A quick read, and a valuable insight into life under occupation. Free Palestine! 🇵🇸🍉🕊️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Genocide, Death, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

sudden, abrupt, and utterly devastating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Death, Violence, War, Alcohol, Genocide, Murder, Grief, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Child death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

neverlandpages4's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Police brutality, Murder, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Grief, Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, War, and Genocide

getlitwithamy_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

While this was short, MINOR DETAIL was still able to captivate my attention in both physical and audible formats. It reads like nonfiction even though it's historical fiction. Adania Shibli's prose is rich as she does all but hold back about the Palestinian struggle.

Poignancy was the main feeling I had reading this book. It's easy to sympathize and empathize with the women in both parts of the story, as they face oppression and outright brutality at the hands of Israel's occupying forces.

I'm glad I finally got to read this after having been on a waitlist through my library since November.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Blood, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Grief, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Death, Genocide, and Islamophobia

risemini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Death, Genocide, War, Grief, Murder, and Rape

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

A meditative yet sharp short novel showing and telling the impacts of ongoing nakba and occupation on individual lives and psyches as well as the ability to process, understand, and fight back against oppression. Difficult content well employed in the narrative, violence and descriptions of violence walked the line between gratuitous/dehumanizing and so gentle as to erase the dehumanizing nature of violence. Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, War, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Rape

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, and Grief

alyssamakesart's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-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

4.5

The biggest threat to Israel's story in this book is not the two horrific moments of violence in this novel. Those can lazily be denied as unrealistic and moments unsure to the fog of war. However, the trek to each moment is a series of acts of violence of themselves. Racism and physical occupation being the main two. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Confinement, Racism, Islamophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence

Minor: Cultural appropriation and War

ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War, Racism, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gore, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis