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astroneatly's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
3.75
niwrad93's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
literaryliz98's review
I decided this book wasn't worth the time. The first 2-3 chapters weren't going anywhere but down hill.
pagesandsounds's review
emotional
sad
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? Yes
3.0
Full review here - http://pagesandsounds.com/2021/02/6-the-consequences-of-love/
inherbooks's review
3.0
Reading this is what I imagine it’d be like to encounter a dementor and having it suck all the colour and joy out of your life. While the pages are completely dry and not tear-stained like I expected, it really brought me down.
"The Consequences of Love" by Sulaiman Addonia is about an Eritrean named Nasir living in Saudi Arabia as a lifelong foreigner who falls hopelessly in love with a veiled girl. Their love grows through love notes tossed in passing, fleeting moments. Think Romeo and Juliet but setting: Saudi.
This book is a very strong commentary on the *culture* in Saudi Arabia that is often mistaken for Islam, but shouldn't be. While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but wonder if this book is banned in KSA. The story takes place in the late 80s/early 90s where religious police patroled the streets to enforce the religious law making sure no one loitered (especially when prayer was about to begin – can’t be found outside of the masjid), boys and girls didn’t look at each other, even for a second, no music, no tv, and women were dressed from head to toe (gloves included) and so on. That is all stuff most of us might already know or have heard about but what took me by surprise was the way men resorted to other means to fulfill their desires, given every door was closed otherwise, and discusses sexual assault and trauma without going into detail. This book was out of the box in describing the male experience more in depth as most books set in Muslim countries talk about the female struggle and I found it to be very different from Sulaiman Addonia's other novel, Silence is My Mother Tongue. It makes me feel uneasy that a part of me doesn’t doubt that this is a very close depiction of reality.
Would I recommend it? I don’t know. It’s definitely going to ruffle a few feathers, bring your mood down etc. When I would put myself in the main character’s shoes, I felt suffocated. It’s like trying to breathe through a paper bag and passing out from too much CO2. I really need time to recover from this one.
"The Consequences of Love" by Sulaiman Addonia is about an Eritrean named Nasir living in Saudi Arabia as a lifelong foreigner who falls hopelessly in love with a veiled girl. Their love grows through love notes tossed in passing, fleeting moments. Think Romeo and Juliet but setting: Saudi.
This book is a very strong commentary on the *culture* in Saudi Arabia that is often mistaken for Islam, but shouldn't be. While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but wonder if this book is banned in KSA. The story takes place in the late 80s/early 90s where religious police patroled the streets to enforce the religious law making sure no one loitered (especially when prayer was about to begin – can’t be found outside of the masjid), boys and girls didn’t look at each other, even for a second, no music, no tv, and women were dressed from head to toe (gloves included) and so on. That is all stuff most of us might already know or have heard about but what took me by surprise was the way men resorted to other means to fulfill their desires, given every door was closed otherwise, and discusses sexual assault and trauma without going into detail. This book was out of the box in describing the male experience more in depth as most books set in Muslim countries talk about the female struggle and I found it to be very different from Sulaiman Addonia's other novel, Silence is My Mother Tongue. It makes me feel uneasy that a part of me doesn’t doubt that this is a very close depiction of reality.
Would I recommend it? I don’t know. It’s definitely going to ruffle a few feathers, bring your mood down etc. When I would put myself in the main character’s shoes, I felt suffocated. It’s like trying to breathe through a paper bag and passing out from too much CO2. I really need time to recover from this one.
safiyareads's review
3.0
This book was about a forbidden romance set in Saudi Arabia of the 1980s. Women covered completely from head to toe, religious police roaming the streets, men admonished if they are seen on the streets when the call to prayer is heard, regular lashings and people being stoned or hanged in the punishment square. This is the reality of the time and we follow Naser, a Sudanese refugee living in Saudi Arabia, who is basically less than a second class citizen because of his position and background.
While all of his friends have gone away for the summer, Naser finds himself alone and bored. Until, that is, a woman drops a note at his feet and from there ensues their romantic journey to find a way to get to know each other. This woman makes herself known to Naser by wearing pink shoes: the only thing that makes him able to distinguish her from every other covered woman.
The way their romance unfolds was suspenseful and captivating at times but after a certain point it became very distasteful to me. I guess the fact that it was from the perspective of the male character and also written by a male author really stood out at this point and it took away a lot of my interest in the story.
There were many details of this story which were eye-opening and extremely important issues were raised and discussed. The treatment of women, especially so at the time this story was set, and even more so the treatment of non-saudis. This aspect of the book was interesting and very important. However, one difficulty I had with it was the fact that the character and equally the author, only very vaguely distinguished between Islam and the actions of the Saudi government and those of wealth and power, they were treated as one and the same for the most part.
There were some events in the story which came up regularly in the story and these particular events were horrifying to say the least. I found the frequent occurrence of them to be excessive, especially because of how awful and shocking they were. It made it feel like an exaggeration in what otherwise would have been a tragic part of the story.
Overall it was a fairly cliche forbidden love story. There were very important problems which were highlighted but I had some issues with certain aspects of the book and how they were represented.
While all of his friends have gone away for the summer, Naser finds himself alone and bored. Until, that is, a woman drops a note at his feet and from there ensues their romantic journey to find a way to get to know each other. This woman makes herself known to Naser by wearing pink shoes: the only thing that makes him able to distinguish her from every other covered woman.
The way their romance unfolds was suspenseful and captivating at times but after a certain point it became very distasteful to me. I guess the fact that it was from the perspective of the male character and also written by a male author really stood out at this point and it took away a lot of my interest in the story.
There were many details of this story which were eye-opening and extremely important issues were raised and discussed. The treatment of women, especially so at the time this story was set, and even more so the treatment of non-saudis. This aspect of the book was interesting and very important. However, one difficulty I had with it was the fact that the character and equally the author, only very vaguely distinguished between Islam and the actions of the Saudi government and those of wealth and power, they were treated as one and the same for the most part.
There were some events in the story which came up regularly in the story and these particular events were horrifying to say the least. I found the frequent occurrence of them to be excessive, especially because of how awful and shocking they were. It made it feel like an exaggeration in what otherwise would have been a tragic part of the story.
Overall it was a fairly cliche forbidden love story. There were very important problems which were highlighted but I had some issues with certain aspects of the book and how they were represented.
kaitlynreadsbooks's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book more. I was looking forward to reading a story about an Eritrean man's time in Saudi Arabia, given that the author is an Eritrean man who lived in Saudi Arabia. The story had promise and I enjoyed certain aspects of it, but overall I found it rather disappointing. I read it quickly so I could finish it and move on to something else.
The writing itself was average. I don't know if that's due in part to the translation or just the fact that this was Addonia's first novel, but it definitely felt like a first novel. (I say that as someone who admires the work that goes into writing a novel and who has never done it personally. It takes a lot of dedication and passion and hard work to write a first novel and I think Addonia should continue writing and improving.) The language was at times trite, with a harlequin romance novel feel to it, and I thought the ending was rather predictable.
It did manage to make me feel angry at parts, and I appreciated that it discussed religious oppression, sexual abuse, and immigrant rights in Saudi Arabia. I had never considered how immigrants might be treated in that country, so that part was illuminating.
But at the end of the day I think it fell flat. It was an entertaining story that no doubt other people will enjoy reading, but it wasn't much more than that.
The writing itself was average. I don't know if that's due in part to the translation or just the fact that this was Addonia's first novel, but it definitely felt like a first novel. (I say that as someone who admires the work that goes into writing a novel and who has never done it personally. It takes a lot of dedication and passion and hard work to write a first novel and I think Addonia should continue writing and improving.) The language was at times trite, with a harlequin romance novel feel to it, and I thought the ending was rather predictable.
It did manage to make me feel angry at parts, and I appreciated that it discussed religious oppression, sexual abuse, and immigrant rights in Saudi Arabia. I had never considered how immigrants might be treated in that country, so that part was illuminating.
But at the end of the day I think it fell flat. It was an entertaining story that no doubt other people will enjoy reading, but it wasn't much more than that.
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