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emb2857's review
slow-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? Yes
2.75
rayningem's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.5
moonmisandrist's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Hard one to review because so much of this felt like a real story, like my story. I'm sure 30-something-year-old Australian millennials who grew up Muslim and queer (especially Lebanese and Turkish ones) will read this book and feel like they are looking into a mirror. I saw my cousins in Jamal's as the police continually hounded them. I saw the 'we all know but won't speak of it' sentiment of Turkish culture regarding sin.
I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.
I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Homophobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Police brutality and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism
swookie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
katieb_'s review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
saint_eleanor's review
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was really really sweet and enjoyable
I wanted to like it more than i did but i was kind of Tee’d up for a magical realism story and this really wasn’t that. Therefore i kept holding onto details that weren’t really relevantfor instance i was really excited about the talking kangaroo and when his skin started coming off his forehead?? And the sleep paralysis demon. None of which are part of the story at all.
It seemed very possibly autobiographical despite being a ‘novel’, about a young gay muslim man in diaspora from Lebanon living in Australia. Coming of age story fs.
It’s pretty sad but also not like devastating or anything just about the intricacies of family and religion and culture which of course are always hard. The ending is sweet and hopeful and you kind of just follow him as he grows up.
The author’s writing style is also lovely.
P.s. Omar Sakr is doing cool poetry/writing and stuff rn in support of Palestine and Lebanon so thats sick
I wanted to like it more than i did but i was kind of Tee’d up for a magical realism story and this really wasn’t that. Therefore i kept holding onto details that weren’t really relevant
It seemed very possibly autobiographical despite being a ‘novel’, about a young gay muslim man in diaspora from Lebanon living in Australia. Coming of age story fs.
It’s pretty sad but also not like devastating or anything just about the intricacies of family and religion and culture which of course are always hard. The ending is sweet and hopeful and you kind of just follow him as he grows up.
The author’s writing style is also lovely.
P.s. Omar Sakr is doing cool poetry/writing and stuff rn in support of Palestine and Lebanon so thats sick
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
graphic consensual sex, and like brief mention of incest, intense homophobia throughout the whole thingsarahbrowell's review
3.0
Poetry often drops me into a place or a feeling, holds me there for a moment, and then it’s over. Sakr’s writing is poetry, but it for me could not sustain a cogent narrative over the course of a novel. I was often disoriented by the temporal shifts and volume of characters.
Sakr does a masterful job however of creating feeling and painting a vibrant scene. His snapshots into of as a bisexual Muslim man growing up in Australia were at once devastating and uplifting
Sakr does a masterful job however of creating feeling and painting a vibrant scene. His snapshots into of as a bisexual Muslim man growing up in Australia were at once devastating and uplifting
saskiapetris's review
4.0
It took a little bit to adjust to the rhythm of Sakr’s writing and the jumps between times and place, which sometimes felt like a strange fever dream. The writing and story itself is beautiful and moving.
Jamal struggles to reconcile his identity as a bisexual man within his religion and community. As does his family, who all have their own struggles and contradictory lifestyles to what is accepted within their faith. It’s ultimately a story about flawed and dysfunctional characters tying to find their place in a harsh world.
I really enjoyed the imagery and prose of Sakr’s writing and the relationships between the characters. I felt like you could tell that it was based on his own experiences, and felt very grounded in reality.
Jamal struggles to reconcile his identity as a bisexual man within his religion and community. As does his family, who all have their own struggles and contradictory lifestyles to what is accepted within their faith. It’s ultimately a story about flawed and dysfunctional characters tying to find their place in a harsh world.
I really enjoyed the imagery and prose of Sakr’s writing and the relationships between the characters. I felt like you could tell that it was based on his own experiences, and felt very grounded in reality.