Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha

14 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

5.0

Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear is evocative from the title, and it absolutely does not stop throughout the book. Abu Toha takes his readers into the intimate and heart-wrenching moments of a culture, a land, a people under generations of siege. He shows the humanity of the Palestinians of Gaza, a humanity that is often ignored, erased, or disputed in much of mainstream media today. These are not empty numbers or mindless villains dying in the streets of Gaza - they are children, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, lovers, each their own complex bundle of human spirit. Abu Toha keeps that fact at the forefront of his poems.

I also enjoyed the photographic interlude and the interview with Abu Toha at the end of the book; both provided insight and context to some of the specific details enumerated in his poems. The photos additionally emphasized how real the lives of Palestinians are. 

As I always try to do when I review poetry books, here is a list of my favorite poems from this collection: "Palestine A-Z", "My Grandfather Was A Terrorist",  "Death Before Birth (DBB)", "Displaced", "To My Visa Interviewer", the titular "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear", and "A Rose Shoulders Up". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Colonisation, Gun violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Blood, War, Child death, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma

lbelow's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense

5.0

This is a beautifully moving collection of poetry. Each poem is lyrical and raw, drawing me into the author's life. A must-read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Violence, Genocide, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, and Blood

shannon_magee's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief, Death, War, and Blood

bladelikesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

In this book - partially a collection of poems, partially interview answers - Abu Toha tells us of his personal life experience from a young age to present times. 

Abu Toha’s writing is very beautiful and incredibly easy to follow (which i greatly appreciate). His writing show his faily life living in refugee camps in Gaza and the true horror of it, while also showing the beauty of his country, community, and religion. 

I really enjoyed the interview protion of this book as i was able to understang his use of poetry better. Abu Toha’s has lived through so many attacks from Israel that he just cobsiders it a part of his daily routine which is so horrifying and sad. 

I think this collection gives such good insight into daily life in Gaza and generational trauma. If you’re looking to learn more about the Palestinian people’s experienced of life in Gaza, or you’re looking into poetry that’s easy to follow, definitely check out this book:)) 

TWs - Blood; Body Horror; Bombing; Child Death (Graphic); Colonisation; Corpses; Covid; Death; Ethnic Cleansing; Genocide; Grief; Loss Of A Loved One; Medical Content; Medical Trauma; Murder; Violence; War

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Child death, Body horror, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma