Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

27 reviews

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

“Evil Eye” follows a Palestinian-American woman as she tries to balance healing her mental health and unhappiness with her family and culture. I felt sucked right in to Yara’s life; she really comes alive off the page. The novel was a little slow to start, but when it picked up, it became totally engrossing. The portrayal of Yara’s depression and complex trauma is so realistic and is such powerful representation. This is a timely read that I wholeheartedly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, and Racism

notthatcosta's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-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

3.5

My favourite parts of the book were the loving descriptions of cooking Palestinian food and the exploration of generational trauma, both of which resonate particularly hard considering the plight of Gaza. On the other hand, the dialogue felt a bit static and watered down at points which pulled me out of the story often - as did the reputation of the physical manifestations of Yara's grief. 

As a Cypriot, stories about the Nakba and reverence for olive trees and our ancestral land hit me hard and add gravitas to the ways in which Yara's heritage informs her struggles and create conflicts within her head. 

The journal entries are challenging to read, and Yara's lack of self belief make it hard to root for her at points because of the extent to which she is suffering from generational trauma and PTSD, but ultimately the sense of liberation and self-discovery feels really earned and grounded with the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and War

shannnne_reads_words's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment

shay43geek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

queenkath32's review

emotional reflective sad

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

amandafitz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

taylormoore's review

challenging emotional informative 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Xenophobia

mandi_lea's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Grief

mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

read this in honor of read palestine week. too slow paced for my liking but stuck it out for this challenge and really wanted to see the outcome of Yara so i ended up finishing it in two dedicated days. about trauma, therapy, bravery… i was rooting for her and felt sad at times for her. third person (usually not a fan) and stream of consciousness type. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexism

Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

brewdy_reader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.5

𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘍𝘪𝘤 • 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢 •  ⁣𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 • 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳."

Evil Eye is LitFic at its finest: it feels so real that it could be true, it could be someone's memoir, maybe someone close to you, maybe even yours, or mine. Every child of immigrants, every mother, every woman, anyone in any marginalized group, can find something relatable within these pages. Addressing Palestinian history, generational trauma, gender expectations and inequities, mental health and stigmas, shame and grief and guilt, Arab stereotypes, and lots of other tough topics, this is also a story of empowerment and how to heal.

Then there is the mouth-watering food. In fact, the only thing that Yara's husband Fadi and I see eye-to-eye on is her cooking: a gastronomic explosion of flavors. You will smell the aroma and taste the spices as you read. In fact I'm hungry now. 

And Silas. 🥹

There is also art and creating and Frida Kahlo. There's instagram versus reality and what it means to live an authentic life. There's the isolation of not fitting the mold, not fitting in. How to live a life true to yourself and not what someone else wants for you. How to see that you don't need to be fixed because you're not broken.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence