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ukponge's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Grief, Dementia, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
dragongirl271's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“Destiny put everyone on a stage, to play a role, and sometimes the spotlight slipped off you to give you a break. At other times, it burned into you directly, relentlessly, as you stumbled through a soliloquy of exhaustion.”
Behind You Is The Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
One of the things that surprised me when I finally got back into reading regularly last year was how much I enjoy a collection of short stories. In fact, one of last year's books that I still constantly think about is a short story collection. So, I was really excited when blackwalnutbooks included the short story prompt again for this year's DecolonizeYourShelf2024 and I was even more excited when I saw posts about this book as a 2024 release by a beloved Palestinian author. And, let me tell you, the synopsis on this book does not do it justice.
I don't have the character space to talk about this book, but I'll give it a shot. Darraj gives us an overarching tale of 3 Palestinian-American families in a series of short stories that peek into short moments in the characters’ lives. Almost all the stories focus on a different character (Marcus gets two) and combined span years. These characters grow, learn about themselves, tackle stereotypes, love deeply, and grieve. We get to see a glimpse of the immigrant experience and the sharing of cultures. Each character decides what it means to them to be Arab and Palestinian in today's world. What family and culture mean to them. The journeys are messy and beautiful and human and this will not be the last time I read through them all.
I love the idea of an episodic novel like this where all the short stories are connected. Occasionally, it was hard to keep all the names straight in the audiobook, but not everything can be perfect for every format. By the way, the audiobook is narrated extremely well.
Behind You Is The Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
One of the things that surprised me when I finally got back into reading regularly last year was how much I enjoy a collection of short stories. In fact, one of last year's books that I still constantly think about is a short story collection. So, I was really excited when blackwalnutbooks included the short story prompt again for this year's DecolonizeYourShelf2024 and I was even more excited when I saw posts about this book as a 2024 release by a beloved Palestinian author. And, let me tell you, the synopsis on this book does not do it justice.
I don't have the character space to talk about this book, but I'll give it a shot. Darraj gives us an overarching tale of 3 Palestinian-American families in a series of short stories that peek into short moments in the characters’ lives. Almost all the stories focus on a different character (Marcus gets two) and combined span years. These characters grow, learn about themselves, tackle stereotypes, love deeply, and grieve. We get to see a glimpse of the immigrant experience and the sharing of cultures. Each character decides what it means to them to be Arab and Palestinian in today's world. What family and culture mean to them. The journeys are messy and beautiful and human and this will not be the last time I read through them all.
I love the idea of an episodic novel like this where all the short stories are connected. Occasionally, it was hard to keep all the names straight in the audiobook, but not everything can be perfect for every format. By the way, the audiobook is narrated extremely well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Classism
metaphorsandmisc's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Cultural appropriation, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder, Rape, Toxic relationship, War, Abortion, Eating disorder, Self harm, Body shaming, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism, Infertility, and Suicide attempt
traceyreads2's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVia for a Digital ARC of this book.
I absolutely loved this book. It is so beautiful and intense and sad all hopeful all at the same time.
What I got from reading this story is each chapter is a different story from the same family (but a whole larger generation of a family) and it tells you about a what is currently going on in their lives. There is often struggle, pain between family members but always love and support a way to find a way through whatever they are dealing with.
So if you enjoy stories that are from different voices than your own (possibly) as the author is Palestinian American author, then I recommend picking this up in January 2024.
I absolutely loved this book. It is so beautiful and intense and sad all hopeful all at the same time.
What I got from reading this story is each chapter is a different story from the same family (but a whole larger generation of a family) and it tells you about a what is currently going on in their lives. There is often struggle, pain between family members but always love and support a way to find a way through whatever they are dealing with.
So if you enjoy stories that are from different voices than your own (possibly) as the author is Palestinian American author, then I recommend picking this up in January 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Dementia, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Body shaming
paulasuze's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75/5
Susan Muaddi Darraj's debut novel is a beautiful exploration of life in the diaspora for Palestinian immigrants in America. The book exists in the universe of three families in Baltimore, Maryland, each chapter telling the story of a different family member. This multi-generational tale tackles difficult topics, from eating disorders, to the intersection of class and race, to the cycle of poverty, to sexual assault, to anti-Arab sentiment and Islamophobia, to inter- and intra-community violence. Few characters endear themselves to the reader, but their stories are no less engrossing because of it.
The blurb states that the book faces stereotypes about Palestinians head-on, and in some cases that's true. In a few stories though, I wasn't sure if the narrative was actually reinforcing stereotypes rather than dispelling them. Additionally, there is a lot of hero worship/glorification of policing and the US military which I found interesting. Because of the policing/military violence under the occupation in Palestine, I would have expected the opposite, but maybe Darraj is noting that the first generation children of these immigrants are so removed from Palestine that they do not know that violence and therefore don't abhor the institution of it. Unclear!
Overall though, it was a compelling story and a debut that definitely has me keeping an eye out for what the author puts out next.
Susan Muaddi Darraj's debut novel is a beautiful exploration of life in the diaspora for Palestinian immigrants in America. The book exists in the universe of three families in Baltimore, Maryland, each chapter telling the story of a different family member. This multi-generational tale tackles difficult topics, from eating disorders, to the intersection of class and race, to the cycle of poverty, to sexual assault, to anti-Arab sentiment and Islamophobia, to inter- and intra-community violence. Few characters endear themselves to the reader, but their stories are no less engrossing because of it.
The blurb states that the book faces stereotypes about Palestinians head-on, and in some cases that's true. In a few stories though, I wasn't sure if the narrative was actually reinforcing stereotypes rather than dispelling them. Additionally, there is a lot of hero worship/glorification of policing and the US military which I found interesting. Because of the policing/military violence under the occupation in Palestine, I would have expected the opposite, but maybe Darraj is noting that the first generation children of these immigrants are so removed from Palestine that they do not know that violence and therefore don't abhor the institution of it. Unclear!
Overall though, it was a compelling story and a debut that definitely has me keeping an eye out for what the author puts out next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Torture and Cultural appropriation
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