Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns

5 reviews

binevolentbookworm's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

in your driver is waiting, priya guns packs a punch to the gut with an unrelenting, stream of consciousness writing style, examining how resistance can be glorified if, and only if, the resistor fits within the context that is deemed appropriate (i.e. white, peaceful, has “done the work”) by western standards. but if that person doesn’t fit the mold, isn't neatly packed into this box, if they dare to exist in black or brown bodies, if they are angry and organizing, and demanding more than “the work” - then it’s considered violent, threatening, and dangerous. 

i highly recommend listening to the audiobook. guns delivers a fantastic performance, barreling off the page and into the stark reality that this book aims to confront. there is lasting significance in guns social commentary that seems particularly poignant today amidst our current political atmosphere and the global call for a ceasefire in gaza. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Police brutality, Colonisation, Death of parent, Racism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Antisemitism, Deportation, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Stalking, and Trafficking

lynxpardinus's review

dark funny reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Police brutality

Moderate: Car accident, Violence, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Animal death, Drug use, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Medical content

Minor: Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

muddymind's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I have never in my life read such a tender book. I laughed, I cried, I gasped in horror, I cringed, I cussed out the characters (well, really only one of them…) but most importantly I grew to love Damani because of all her complexities. Priya Guns is a voice all of her own. I’m so excited to see where she goes & what she writes in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual content and Stalking

lucylou's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

How unhinged and fairly unpredictable our main character is makes the book something I needed to devour in one sitting. Like other reviews, I wish the author had let us glimpse more into what Damani was thinking, especially when it came to Jolene. We get that she’s as bright as the sun, but how did you feel about her allyship? The pacing was also confusing, but with such short chapters I just pushed through. The last third of the novel made it worth the read, but even then it was vaguer than I would’ve liked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Deportation, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Racism

katiemack's review

dark funny 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

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short book that I enjoyed, but I had to get used to the pacing. I was drawn to the biting, sarcastic, dry satirical take on the gig economy, urban life, and white allyship that Priya Guns employs in this book--I can see the connection to Taxi Driver, though this protagonist is slightly less unhinged, more sincere, and participates in a romance that didn't lend as much to the story as I thought it would. (Also, I started skimming the parts when Damani talked about her body and her YouTube therapist.) The buildup of social commentary leads to an explosive climax, though, and the ending is somehow both cynical and hopeful at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Islamophobia

Minor: Sexual content