Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

7 reviews

wanderlust_romance's review

challenging reflective sad fast-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? N/A

2.0

Behind You is the Sea is a collection of interconnected short stories that center Palestinian characters. I had high hopes and was excited to see it on the shelves during my last library visit. Alas, it was not my cup of tea. The stories are set in Baltimore, but there is no distinguishing sense of place in these vignettes, nothing that makes you understand what it means to live, work, or grow up there. (The irony of it all was the cover designers note at the end proclaiming how Baltimore itself shined as a character here. WHERE?!) BYITS aimed to do too much and didn't execute on those ideas all that well. These stories touched on weighty subjects such as racism, classism, eating disorders, abortion, family conflicts, femicide, and domestic abuse. The writing style was heavy on the telling as opposed to showing, while also skirting around the issue at center of the story before addressing it with unnatural directness. There was little nuance and very little subtlety, while also not leaving much room for reflection from these characters whose head you've been in throughout the short story. The biggest off-putting aspect though was the cop-aganda in the two stories focusing on Marcus. He's a "good cop" and "overprotective brother" but a "bad son" until he takes his father's body back to Palestine and rushes into marriage (savior complex, much?) with a woman there. It's 2024. Do we need to romanticize police in this day and age? In a city as fraught with racialized and class divisions as Baltimore? Of all the commentary that didn't land...that one fell the most flat.

It was a fast read, which is perhaps the only reason I finished reading rather than quitting midway through.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicide attempt, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Bullying, and Self harm

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Grief, Dementia, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

sydapel's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Holy wow this was such a good set of interconnected stories. I often have trouble connecting to or feeling invested in short stories because the characters don't feel fleshed out enough, but Muaddi Durraj managed to create entire worlds within paragraphs. If you're looking to support Palestinian authors, or just read something that will make you cry a little, I cannot recommend this enough. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Misogyny

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

While I really appreciated the concept for this narrative - a loosely connected, multi-POV weaving of slice-of-life vignettes for Palestinians living in diaspora in Baltimore, Maryland - it ultimately felt like it never exceeded the sum of its parts. I'm actually confused after reading an interview with the author that suggests the Marcus POV was her starting point. Marcus's POV didn't feel nearly as compelling as several of the others, and it romanticized policing in a way that didn't make sense for the rest of the narrative and feels tonally confusing. The prose is compelling, and I love the focus on stand-alone scenes (there are several short stories in here that were truly beautiful). The author absolutely shows more than she tells here, and it made this feel fast-paced and immersive. Marcus's police POVs were jarring, though, and I'm not sure I fully understand the author's intention with this character and perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, War, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Dementia, Fatphobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Confinement, Sexual violence, and Child death

skye_era_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

With books that are just interconnected stories, I typically find myself not liking at least 1 or 2 of them. But I was completely immersed into this book. I wanted to know more about each of their lives. This audiobook could have been 30 hours long and I still would have loved it, though I think 6.5 hours was perfect. I loved learning more about their Palestinian-American lives

and even one being able to return home to Palestine after death.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia, Classism, Cancer, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Dementia

robinks's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a beautiful collection of interwoven, nuanced stories. I loved getting to see the characters from different perspectives. Escorting the Body was a powerful way to end the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Fatphobia, Racism, Body shaming, Infidelity, Alcohol, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Murder, Bullying, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Abandonment, Gun violence, Confinement, Sexual content, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, Cancer, Infertility, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

sarahbythebook's review against another edition

4.5

 In this moving collection of vignettes, Susan Muaddi Darraj explores the range of experiences of the Palestinian diaspora. Short snippets spanning multiple years invites readers into the daily lives and struggles of these families: generational divides, class struggles, the differences in expectations of the American Dream.

Darraj has expertly interwoven the lives of her characters; we see these singular people interacting in both positive and negative ways with the Palestinian community around them and the communities they live alongside. This book is a lesson that the Palestinian experience isn't just about pain and suffering, though that is surely a part of the story just like it is for any culture. There is love and joy, successes and celebrations. Behind You is the Sea is a heartfelt reminder that the Palestinian struggle is the human struggle. The fears and concerns are the same as anyone else's, but there is the added dimension of being Palestinian, of being from a place that others are trying to destroy.

So many topics are covered in these chapters that there's something everyone can relate to: loving someone whom your family doesn't approve of, success against the odds, the divide in socioeconomics, body image pressure, intimate relationships that go both right and very very wrong, casual racism and learning to use your voice, what familial duty means. My only issue with this book is that sometimes it was hard to remember how the characters were connected with one another, but that is an incredibly minor critique given the rest.

In Behind You is the Sea, Darraj provides readers just a peak behind the curtain of what it's like to be a Palestinian living in American. Their lives are full, their hurts are familiar and so are their joys.

While there are numerous triggering topics in this book, they are largely off page and discussed briefly. Infertility, domestic violence, and misogyny would be the exceptions. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Cancer, Ableism, Abortion, and Drug use