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teabeansss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Gore, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death, Murder, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and War
sasbyrne's review
- 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
Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Genocide
madelinekramer2021's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Genocide, Death, Blood, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Rape, Body horror, War, Torture, Racism, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Grief, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
kimschouwenaar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Woah. And I mean that in every sense of the expression. This multi-generational story about a Palestinian family grabs you by the throat, nails digging in, and does not relent. I expect it to retain its hold on me for months to come. Abulhawa takes you by the hand and leads you through history and grief, leads you through the relentless suffering of Palestinians, and does not hold back.
Each chapter I was left questioning Can this really happen? Can a people be this ruthless and arrogant to believe they have the rights to invade a country and act like they are the only victims?
Yes. In fact, it is happening and has been happening for decades. We need to stop trying to justify genocide. The safety of one people should not come at the cost of another country and culture.
"The roots of out grief coil so deeply into loss that death has come to live with us like a family member who makes you happy by avoiding you, but who is still one of the family. Our anger is a rage that Westerners cannot understand. Our sadness can make the stones weep. And the way we love is no exception, Amal."
It's a tough read, but I strongly believe it's one that we should all know.
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Genocide, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping and Racism
Minor: Dementia, Deportation, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Pedophilia
read_alittle_whim's review
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Death
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Death, Grief, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Genocide, War, and Xenophobia
purely_romantic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I finished this book minutes before writing this review so forgive me if this is not as polished, nor as coherent. A stream of consciousness is perhaps more appropriate because I cannot review *Mornings in Jenin* as if style and plot and narrative structure were at the forefront of my mind. I do not care about technicalities because I can only speak about how this made me feel. About how I am crying even as I write this, and my grief for an entire people is too large for words, too large for my body.
Language fails me at this moment as I try to describe what reading this book at this particular moment in time feels like. At some points, the images described on the page of people wailing at the sight of their dead families, mothers crying over their children’s corpses, children being shot as they played were blurring with the real footage I see every day. There is no separation of fact from fiction, only a grim, bleak reality of endless grief and rage.
I cannot care about literary analysis while reading this because to do so is to create a cognitive distance entrenched in me by Western academic disciplines that requires I observe from afar. I reject that practice at this moment. While I have in no way experienced these levels of pain and fear, there is a generational sense memory I carry in my bones that knows colonial violence, that knows how a heart can break when my land is ravaged, that feels like shattering when my people are hurting. Through these four generations of characters, each who experiences the same violence over and over again, Abulhawa creates the sense of an endless cycle of occupation, of stolen land and dreams, a never-ending nightmare of lost loved ones and homes, with only smatterings of reprieves that could be pierced by a bullet, by a bomb at any moment. Yehya’s pain was Hasan’s pain was Dalia’s pain was Yousef’s pain was Amal’s pain was my pain. It should be all our pain to watch other human beings suffer like this.
And yet, through all this horror, my god did I feel the characters’ unceasing pride and love for their country. The fondness for their homes, the laughter and joy at being around family, the intricacies of large, community-based cultures that I recognize in my own society, shone through like a beacon. The cheeky pranks of children, the matchmaking relatives, the sounds of older family members’ never-ending advice and instructions knitted the fabric of ancient traditions and customs, livelihoods and sacred love for their home. I am so grateful I was allowed to look into these moments of joy and endurance, that I see still in the faces of the adults and children of Ga*a.
Saying I’m glad this book exists feels strange because these horrors should have never happened. But I am. I am privileged to know the people of Pa*est*ne through the journeys of these characters, to find moments of connection and to bear witness to their past and present. I pray for a day when writers and artists need only write of their love for their olive trees and orange trees, of the sea and their bustling cities, of their families and the nuances of Arab culture, and don’t have to beg for the world to see them.
CWs: war; gen*ci*e; eth*ic clean*ing; injury and death in graphic detail; forced exile and displacements; grief; mentions of tor*ure, assault and beatings; kidnapping and child abduction; oppression, racism and xenophobia and Islamaphobia
Graphic: Grief, Death, Genocide, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Gun violence
liannaengland's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, Rape, Animal death, Torture, Racism, Murder, Islamophobia, and Violence
rina_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
When reading the blurb of the book, I assumed the book would be a dual story line of the Palestinian family and the Israeli family but instead we are following Amal and her connection to everything - her heritage, her womanhood, her relationships, her hopes/dreams - are all shaped by ever-changing landscape of Palestine. I admired the descriptive language in this book when it came to describing the inherent love between the Palestinians and their land. There's a strong sense of history, heritage and ownership that is just torn apart but it's still home to Amal when she returns.
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Xenophobia, and Genocide
There are some graphic parts of the book that will be hard to digest and will make you uncomfortable but it's the reality and it hurts.alisha94's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Rape, Gun violence, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Racism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Deportation, Death, Sexual violence, Genocide, and Death of parent