Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

72 reviews

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

Evil Eye is a profound story about family, trauma and healing. We follow Yara, a Palestinian-American woman as she confronts her childhood and the idea that she may be cursed by it, the same thing that plagued her mother. With this heartbreaking metaphor for mental illness and generational trauma, this book explores how someone can be impacted by these things but not defined by them.  

I thought the format of the story was really interesting too using the journal entries to show her cherished memories of her grandmother in Palestine alongside the scenes of her traumatic childhood. Every one of her journal entries helped me to understand her character a little more and how deeply the abuse her mother faced impacted both of them. 

I listened to the audiobook version and it was moving and immersive, I felt like I was in Yara’s head. Even though I don’t share her particular situation, I related so much to her anxiety and the strained relationship she had with her mother. The writing is beautiful and resonant, and you really get to see Yara as she fully is, a person with flaws yes, but also someone with wishes and dreams no matter what anyone else wants from her. 

I really enjoyed seeing her go through the healing process and begin to question how her past formed who she is and if she’s really content with the stagnant marriage she is in. 

Watching her really accept that she needed help and actively try to heal was really impactful to me. It made me really happy when she started to realized that she deserved more than this marriage and that she wanted better than Fadi. 

Throughout the book, my heart broke for her every time she ended up in a fight with Fadi. While on the surface he seems like the ideal husband supporting his family, the cultural and familial expectations really weigh on him and you can see how it affects him through how he treats Yara. While he wasn’t physically abusive, he was so frustrating because he never made an effort to understand her and dismissed her emotional needs. He was so stuck in his perception of what life is supposed to be like that any attempt by Yara to question it made him defensive and condescending, as if Yara didn’t understand the “real world.” In this way, we get to see how the patriarchy impacts everyone and no one is free while under this system. 

This book definitely made me more aware of my own anxieties and feelings, and made me think about my own relationship with my mother. It also really made me think about how patriarchal systems affect everyone. Particularly how distant and misunderstood women may feel having to do all this emotional and physical labor as wives and mothers and being told their dreams are foolish and unattainable. Evil Eye is such a poignant book and everyone should read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism and Islamophobia

hdennis799's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Another excellent story from Rum. This one felt slow and heavy, and it felt as though Rum was forcing me to slow down, take my time, savor it, study it. I found myself rereading sentences, not because I didn't understand them, but because I needed to pause, picture them, take them in and sit with them for a minute. This may just be my favorite book of 2023.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

youshouldreadthisif's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

scmiller's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Genocide, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

booksbeyondthebinary's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Genocide and Death of parent

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

purposely frustrating but a great lesson and ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

jasminechocklettslee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infidelity and Death of parent

ruffian23's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.25

Once again, I'm a lucky girl.  This was another Goodreads giveaway.  The only problem with this Uncorrected Proof is that there are no dedications, epigraphs, or author notes.  I'll have to get a library copy to see what those were!  

I loved this beautiful story of a young mother struggling to make sense of her life.  As in her previous book, she looks at Palestinian Americans, a group I know little of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, War, and Deportation