Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

13 reviews

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

emotional reflective

4.25

This memoir covers many parts of the author's life, going from moments during her travel, to her childhood, to her relationships as an adult. She weaves them together, discussing pain and violence from these different parts of her life, but also pleasure and healing. 

She speaks candidly about racism and fatphobia that she experiences from stragers, but also violence from her parents as a child and partners as an adult. The violence of a homeland she can no longer visit and of a home that was too hostile to return to. She also speaks of the relationships  and small interactions that have facilitated he healing, from the kindness of strangers to reconciliation, to entering the world of kink. 

This was well-written and engaging. I listened to the audiobook over the course of just a couple of days.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Abortion

Explicit discussion of kink and BDSM

amberinpieces's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Body shaming, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Deportation, Infidelity, War, Mass/school shootings, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Genocide, and Cancer

erickaonpaper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

no ratings for a memoir, buuut, i particularly enjoyed randa's reading of her memoir. it felt more personal in that sense, similar to feelings i had of constance wu's reading of hers. i'm shaken by the physical and sexual abuse randa survives and am very thankful she did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Islamophobia, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

speedofhuman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Bullying, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Sexism, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, and Racism

Minor: War, Pedophilia, and Police brutality

kleinekita's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

emoryscott's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.75

I really wanted to like this book. I love memoirs and the jacket summary was intriguing. However, this author’s style is not for me. If you enjoy quippy, erratic narration, you’ll love this. I felt like the journey across the country could have been more clearly defined. I felt like I never knew which era of her life she was speaking about. I know this is some people’s favorite type of writing, but it just wasn’t for me. 

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Content Warnings

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.

cpskee's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-paced

4.0

A story about home/exile and not feeling like you belong - navigating ethnicities, abuse, racism, sexuality. Beautiful writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racism

dianavdavidson_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Islamophobia and Xenophobia

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

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