Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Love Is an Ex-Country

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

11 reviews

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I also just especially do not like to rate memoirs, as I am a fervent believer in everyone being able to share their stories. I listened to the audiobook (thank you Libby!) and it was about ~5 hours, so it kept me company on my 5 hour flight hehe.

Randa Jarrar's narration in the audiobook was phenomenal - she was dry, cutting, and vulgar without abandon. Randa is a fat, queer, Arab American who refuses to apologize for who she is, and I applaud her. This book covered stories ranging from her childhood to now, covering the abuse she endured, not only by her family, but by romantic and sexual partners. She also describes the rampant fatphobia, xenophobia, racism, and doxxing she experienced by being so outspoken and uncensored in her thoughts on American politics especially. It all rang so familiar to me, not because I share identities with RJ (I'm not Arab, not Muslim, not fat), but mostly because it certainly seems as if most folks are perpetually trying to knock femmes down a peg, to "remember their place" so to speak.

I appreciate that Randa Jarrar spoke so boldly and honestly about her life, and am grateful to have read through her reflections. Some were incredibly graphic and uncomfortable, but I hope she found some solace and peace in sharing this all with the world.

Content Warnings

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

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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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amberinpieces's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

3.0

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nightlight_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

Warning: this book is quite horny and I would not recommend listening to it at work.

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.

Content Warnings