Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

15 reviews

alylentz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this and would definitely pick up another book by this author. I soared through the first half, but then the second half faltered a little for me: not sure if that was the pacing or if I just felt less compelled by the subjects of those sections. My favorite chapter was the one that discussed being detained by customs--I feel like that is definitely a must-read for so many. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia

churameru's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I was given access to an eARC of this book through NetGallety in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

clarabooksit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Body shaming

Moderate: Drug use and Police brutality

bookswithmybulldog's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder