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vyxter's review
went into it thinking it was a queer awakening story, but when i started to sense it was actually a story about raping a servant boy that's also rife with unappealing poetic language? I bailed
gdenav's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
kingofspain93's review
3.75
Extremely erotic, and I think it has to do with Leftah’s touching and (maybe) unconscious portrayal of a dom/sub relationship in a time and place without these terms. Ni’mat’s ecstatic joy in giving himself, the control of himself, over to Islam with no loss of respect or mutual tenderness is beautiful. I appreciate, too, that a novel that is mostly focused on the destructive effects of toxic masculinity and religion on gay male relationships explicitly acknowledges that the first victims of both of these forms of oppression are women. I think that Leftah is arguing for an expanded experience of sexuality that goes beyond a straight/gay binary, and I appreciate that this was done implicitly. I can handle a little philosophy and critical thinking in my gay lit, thank you. Captain Ni’mat’s Last Battle is absolutely at its least subtle and most tedious in the journal portions. It’s much better when it’s just happening.
It’s hard for me to enjoy gay male lit because no matter what, the world over, women have it worse than men in situations where sexual normativity is rigidly and violently maintained. This is true 100% of the time. Because of the empathy for the female characters and the acknowledgement of female oppression as the first sign of a sexually repressed culture, I’m willing to give this book a pass. Still, this will always be a genre that’s hard for me to give myself over to when it's not written by women. Made me want to read Ties That Bind by Keira Marcos again.
d1n1z's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
srm's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Absolutely gorgeously written and translated book about a staid Egyptian man's late-in-life homosexual awakening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Homophobia
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
emily1602's review
Like Call Me By Your Name, but I think it was written before that book. Takes place in Egypt. Society is more explicitly opposed to the relationship. But it also comes closer to a happy ending than CMBYN does.
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