Reviews tagging 'Violence'

If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar

10 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

A powerful, reflective collection with stunning cover art. Strong poems and playful formats. 

Favorites included:
-Partition (esp. the first one)
-When the Orders Came
-From
-Microaggression Bingo
-If They Come For Us

"I think I believe in freedom, I just don't know where it is."
-How We Left: Film Treatment

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Racism, Rape, Domestic abuse, Violence, and War

yinflower's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and War

lingfish7's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

📖This collection of poetry is deep, melancholy, and reflective. This is the first poetry book I’ve read that centers on the Pakistan India partition. The partition was a brutal time in the 1940’s that tore India into two countries based off culture and religion (Pakistani Muslims and Indian Hindus). Every Pakistani family has a partition story, and Fatimah’s poetry is such a beautiful way to process that collective, generational trauma. The partition is such an important world event that every person and culture should learn about and this poetry book is a powerful introduction to beginners. 

🏳️‍🌈Since publishing this poetry book, Fatimah now identifies as non-binary and so this was a perfect poetry book club read for pride month. Fatimah has a poem in this collection called “Other body” that specifically talks about gender nonconformity. Thanks to @jenny for choosing this book for our poetry club. It was such a deep and informative read!

🌻Note: For fans of Rupi Kuar (author of the sun and her flowers), this book reminded me of her poetry collections in many ways, including topics and tone.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

juliaisnotalright's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I feel bad for not rating this book 5 stars but some parts were boring af.
Nevertheless I still learned a lot about the Partition of India and all the struggles Someone had to go through. It was emotional and I now I know some more traditions and terms.
But I didn’t vibe with the poetry. It was okay but not breathtaking.
And as previously said I feel bad for rating this book because I feel like I’m rating the life of the author.
All these poems felt so personal and vulnerable.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Violence, and Sexual violence

counterfeitnickel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

A deeply personal and emotionally impactful work. Displays in uncomfortable detail the impact of inter generational trauma.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Domestic abuse, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Violence

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

3.0

i enjoyed this collection of poems from asghar, a reflective and sometimes dark meditation on the partition and being pakistani, muslim, an immigrant, and an orphan, an amalgamation of identities that each poses its own set of challenges. 

i particularly like the depiction of the struggles of being brown and muslim in america, and the double standards of religion and the patriarchy, w/ many lines being quite succinct yet ring true and striking. the casual infusion of violence into poems on the partition also drives home the ubiquity of it during the period. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

jbabbm's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

Very good poetry, but it didn't resonate with me a lot 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

outcrye's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Islamophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny

alliemikennareads's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

This is a great volume of poetry. Beautifully written, with great structure, cadence, and overall language. Will pick this up again and definitely recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief