Reviews

This book was so heart-touching, sweeping through three generations far away from their home in Palestine, and their culture due to wars and violence there. It's a lil different from books of similar themes, since the families are quite well-to-do and are able to live comfortably even in difficult times. Yet, the pain that each person feels is very realistic, and that need to be close to a culture they can't really reach anymore. The ending with Manar travelling to her grandparent's home and searching for a feeling of nostalgia and wondering what life would've been like if they stayed - that was brilliant!

misswinchester84's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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

4.75

cinemasimulacra's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

3.5

tyara02's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It's absolutely stunningly written and yet it left me wanting at the end. I do not want to compare this work to Susan Abulhawa's work, but I will anyway. Where Abulhawa is fiercely aware of the class politics in her book, this book papers over it, only briefly mentioning it. It also would have been preferable if there were fewer character points of view so that their narratives could be deeper explored.

raenbow's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense

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? No

4.75

marisazane's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Alia’s mother reads her future in her coffee dregs before her wedding. She predicts an “unsettled” life for Alia, and that’s exactly what this story is. Her early marriage starts with tragedy and being uprooted from her home in Palestine by the Six Day War. Alia and her husband relocate to Kuwait City, where she feels unsettled. She raises her three (very different) children there and remains until she’s once again uprooted by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. In her personal life, she’s unsettled by her children’s choices - of spouses, of college degrees, of where they move in the world. This book spans decades and chapters alternate focus on different characters in the family.
—
I wanted to love this book, and choosing it was a safe bet because I normally love multigenerational family sagas. But I found Alia’s character (and some of the others) really tiresome (like the daughter who refused to be aware of her sugar messes!) and that made the book tiresome for me. Being unsettled was super legit, and I understand that the book was supposed to be about this family trying to adapt and live their lives while absolute horror was going on around them. AND Alia’s personality was just not that great.

⭐️⭐️✨✨💫(2.75)

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