Scan barcode
alainajreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit
Moderate: Racism, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma
nightlight_reader's review against another edition
3.75
I love how open Jarrar is about her life and her relationship with her parents and her cultures. I also think I gained a much better understanding of BDSM culture from this book, which I definitely wasn’t expecting. This was great in an audiobook format, although a few chapters will probably just read better in normal book form based on format and structure of the stories. (If you’ve read it, you can probably guess which one.)
I’d really like to read more about her relationship with her son in the future, I think, because it seems like a relationship full of love but also with strain. She talks a lot about her past but I’d like to hear her thoughts on the future, too.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Xenophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Eating disorder
emoryscott's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Stalking, Child abuse, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Genocide, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
Also, at times, it really seemed like the author was glorifying trauma and abuse. It was definitely a bit difficult to read as a survivor, but I can see how someone else may find this empowering.imrereads's review against another edition
3.0
I have conflicting thoughts. While there are some really wonderfully written and capturing sections, I felt over all that it didn't deliver what it advertised. It certainly isn't cross-country roadtrip the blurb promised.
My biggest issue is that it felt very fragmentes and not flowing together the way I would have wanted. It jumps very quickly from topic to topic, from childhood to adulthood, from serious to lighthearted. This made it hard for me to feel engaged in the narrarive. It's certainly a provocative memoir for better and for worse. At least personally I found several sections to be quite triggering to read, and I wish it didn't jump so quickly from topic to topic.
Still, I want to repeat that there are some really good and thought provoking sections. For example the chapter where she's at the airport in Isreal had me at the edge of my seat. I won't forget it easily!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
churameru's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual assault
maisierosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Love is an Ex-Country is a poignant memoir about Randa Jarrar's life and experiences as a fat, queer, Muslim Arab-American woman. She discusses childhood, marriage, sex, motherhood, her Muslim identity, kink, her white-passing privilege, and much more on a personal level; she also weaves in facts about, for instance, the occupation of Palestine and how that affects her as a Palestinian. This memoir is not always easy or comfortable to read, with explicit depictions of e.g. domestic abuse and sexual assault, but if you are able to read about these topics it is worth it.
There is a strong theme of travel throughout the book - with journeys around the USA with her dog as well as to multiple other countries - but I would not call it a travelogue, which seems to have caused some confusion for other viewers. I personally prefer memoirs-with-travel rather than travel-with-memories, so this did not bother me.
If you would like a taste of the style of this memoir, many of the chapters have previously been published as essays in various magazines. Randa has also written fiction, which I will definitely be looking into and reading in the future.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
bookswithmybulldog's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Eating disorder