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challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Picked up this beautiful copy of The Sea Cloak & Other Stories at the weekend and felt compelled to read it straight away. The stories within this book are just as beautifully written and translated as the cover illustration. The way Qarmout writes about Gaza, the sea, the women and children who live there, it’s a love letter to a place whose complete destruction we are currently witnessing in real time. It’s devastating, haunting.
.
Published in 2017, these super short stories explore the tense reality of living in a country under occupation. Qarmout depicts children scrambling to make a living searching through rubble, men navigating fraught tensions just to work and not end up dead, women grasping for a life just out of their reach. Hypocrisies are laid bare, dreams of freedom (in more than one sense) shared, lives cut short by brutal and needless violence.
.
I was struck by one story where a woman is reliving her sexual assault while caring for a child. The child is oblivious to the woman’s inner turmoil, happily watching Masha and the Bear, a show my nieces both love. Do the children of Gaza not deserve to continue to live carefree lives filled with silly cartoons? We see videos of children carrying other children, both deceased and alive, forced into the role of caretaker so young. World powers must surely see this too, and yet they continue to do nothing.
.
Keep reading and amplifying Palestinian voices, both fiction and nonfiction, don’t look away from the atrocities that have been ongoing not just for the last 100+ days, but 75 years.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This book shows exactly why I like short stories. It is fairly easy to hide your inadequacies in a novel, in hundreds of pages, and ireelevant descriptions. But in short stories, every word matters. Every word has to be exactly right. And this is what happens in this small collection. The writing is beautiful, the characters are nicely built and the stories are heartbreaking and brutal, full of emotion (without being overdramatic).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, Murder, Colonisation
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This was such a beautifully translated (and written, I imagine) collection of short stories that focuses on Palestinian life in Gaza. These stories aren’t entirely political in nature, though the political tension over the years between Israel and Palestine is ever-present in these pages, all of which goes to show that this is everyday living. As stated, the focus is primarily on everyday life through the eyes of different Palestinians. These stories cover a broad range of emotions and thoughts that these characters feel as the days pass, allowing Qarmout to include some commentary on issues that I imagine she cares about (e.g., feminism). As much violence and heartbreak as there are in these stories, there are still beautiful moments that encourage the reader to consider the joys of the little things in life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Sexism
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a series of short stories about life in Gaza. Each story is woven together really well and feels complete. The characters feel realistic, and the sometimes terrible things that happen are related in ways that don't feel overly voyeuristic or sensational.
My favourite stories: Black Grapes; The Long Braid.
My favourite stories: Black Grapes; The Long Braid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest