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Reviews tagging 'Murder'
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha
16 reviews
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Genocide, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Child death, Body horror, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma
careinthelibrary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I thought this was great. The poet wrote in such a sensory way that I felt drawn into the space he created. The smells, sensations, sounds. There's a poem that references teeth chattering that I really felt, for example. Small but mighty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and War
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear is both a lament for and an ode to Gaza and its people. Mosab Abu Toha's words are searing, gorgeous, and absolutely devastating. Starting with his childhood and ending with his current status as father to young children, Abu Toha portrays life in Gaza in such an evocative manner that his simultaneous grief and pride over being Palestinian practically leaps off the page.
As I often feel about poetry, why try and describe how beautiful his words are when I can just quote the author himself?
"In Gaza,
As I often feel about poetry, why try and describe how beautiful his words are when I can just quote the author himself?
"In Gaza,
breathing is a task,
smiling is performing
plastic surgery
on one's own face,
and rising in the morning,
trying to survive
another day, is coming back
from the dead."
"And when we die, our bones will continue to grow, to reach and intertwine with the roots of the olive and orange trees, to bathe in the sweet Yaffa sea. One day, we will be born again when you're not there. Because this land knows us. She is our mother. When we die, we're just resting in her womb until the darkness is cleared."
"And when we die, our bones will continue to grow, to reach and intertwine with the roots of the olive and orange trees, to bathe in the sweet Yaffa sea. One day, we will be born again when you're not there. Because this land knows us. She is our mother. When we die, we're just resting in her womb until the darkness is cleared."
Mosab's home in Gaza was recently destroyed during the ongoing genoc!dal siege. Then, just last week, he was separated from his family and beaten and detained by Israeli forces. He has since been reunited with his family. I don't pray but I'm hoping that Mosab and family can remain physically safe. And with every ounce of my soul, I am wishing for a complete ceasefire and a Free Palestine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Genocide, Violence, Murder, and Grief
yourbookishbff's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear, by Mosab Abu Toha, feels like it was written yesterday, and the continued relevancy of this collection is what makes it so gut-wrenching to read. A Palestinian poet born in and currently living in Gaza, Toha recounts first-hand experiences living through Israeli attacks. Some occur during prolonged conflicts - like those in 2014 or 2021 - and other incidents are described as the routine occurrences of violence in occupied Gaza. The incessant sound of drones, the constant threat of aerial attack, the accessibility of the beach to Israeli naval patrols - all are woven together in a net of surveillance that shadows day-to-day life. Toha's voice is reflective and unfiltered as it drifts between memories of family and images of leveled homes, reflections on ancestry and odes to death. As we bear witness to the horrors of occupation and ethnic cleansing in 2023, I am haunted by Toha's plea in US and THEM: "I want to build my house on a swing. / I don't want to walk on this earth"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, and Death
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