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n_asyikin_'s review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
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
4.5
The story is raw, never one to hold back from the viciousness of its truth. It explores how one's identity was shaped through an existential conundrum our MC Ya'qub or Jacob went through, brought about by the grief he was experiencing from the lost of his beloved from AIDS - and also, from being neglected, by his parents and harsh circumstances, as a child.
It was meant to be rather reflective and highly character-driven; the story was not told in a linear timeline. With that, some may find Ya'qub to be an inconsistent narrator - but I think that was only to accentuate the befuddlement he was experiencing.
Iblis, Death & The Saints provided interesting perspectives. Their quips provide something light & funny (despite mostly in cynicism) into this mainly heavy story.
'The Angel of History' also touched upon imperialism & its inherent attrocity, highlighting upon how racist views made dehumanization easy. Or rather perhaps, it shows how racializing - therefore, othering - people made dehumanizing easy; it was something to be seen, reading about a brown American demonizing the people whom otherwise shared his background - the colonizing of his mind started when he was sent to a European religious school.
Fair warning, this book is graphic in its violence - and it can get difficult to read. But I think it does have a lot of important things to say, especially in regards to the injustices a queer brown/black man from the Global South was subjected to, being displaced from his home, raised & taught to see himself as unworthy of acceptance & love due to the colour of his skin & his place of origin.
It was a powerful, heartwrenching read.
It was meant to be rather reflective and highly character-driven; the story was not told in a linear timeline. With that, some may find Ya'qub to be an inconsistent narrator - but I think that was only to accentuate the befuddlement he was experiencing.
Iblis, Death & The Saints provided interesting perspectives. Their quips provide something light & funny (despite mostly in cynicism) into this mainly heavy story.
'The Angel of History' also touched upon imperialism & its inherent attrocity, highlighting upon how racist views made dehumanization easy. Or rather perhaps, it shows how racializing - therefore, othering - people made dehumanizing easy; it was something to be seen, reading about a brown American demonizing the people whom otherwise shared his background - the colonizing of his mind started when he was sent to a European religious school.
Fair warning, this book is graphic in its violence - and it can get difficult to read. But I think it does have a lot of important things to say, especially in regards to the injustices a queer brown/black man from the Global South was subjected to, being displaced from his home, raised & taught to see himself as unworthy of acceptance & love due to the colour of his skin & his place of origin.
It was a powerful, heartwrenching read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
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