Reviews with content warning for Self harm - The Bruising of Qilwa

wow, i did not know how much i needed to step into a queernornative world. it was a much needed comfort.

confession: i do not world build in my head when i read books. i rarely imagine the characters. which is one of the reasons i rarely read adult fantasy and i am not really the person to listen to when it comes to adult fantasy—i can’t tell you if the magic system or world or conflict made sense because it usually doesn’t make sense to me anyway. i can talk to you for hours about the magic systems in disney movies but that’s about it.

what i can tell you is that i loved the nuance in this book—the protagonist and antagonist are not hero and villain, the problem has been caused by an attempt at healing, and the problem is solved in a way that does not make the protagonist a winner.

in the author’s note, they say they didn’t initially intend to examine the question “what does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor?” but found themself writing about it as they deepened the story. i think the question, which firuz (the mc) asks themself several times throughout the book, strengthened the story and the character development. jamnia relates it to their being persian and persian history, and about unlearning things they originally never questioned about empire.

this is a quick read and i recommend it for fellow queer folks who want or need to step into a queernormative world.

photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5GmLQLr6VQ/?igsh=NzBmMjdhZWRiYQ==

Content Warnings

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

Really well executed book that engages both magic and empire in a way I haven't often seen done! I'm always excited for magic-as-science and this definitely fit the bill. Also really liked how gender and transition was handled with this, where it was relevant to the characters and the story but not necessarily the point.

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gcrkl's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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prosenheim's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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kimapede's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

4.75

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trickphoenix's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. All of the plot threads were conceptually very interesting to me, but I found the execution was lacking.

There were way too many plots going on for a novella, and I felt they didn't get enough time individually to develop. The medical mystery itself I found compelling and it kept me going through the rest, but the interpersonal drama was tense and frustrating without feeling particularly cathartic, and there was never quite enough context given to drive home any of the points about imperialism and changing cultural identity as oppressor vs oppressed, which is a shame since the author seemed to be so thoughtful and knowledgeable on those topics! There just wasn't enough pages to really explore them.

The writing itself was also sometimes confusing; I found myself going back to re-read a few lines to see if I missed some context connecting the thoughts, but didn't find any connection between the two lines at all.

I really liked the extremely diverse inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters, and the seamless inclusion of introductory pronouns and neo-pronouns. I also found the magic system very interesting, and I was excited for the setting. But ultimately I think the delivery wasn't quite there yet. I'd definitely be interested in reading more work from this author to see how they grow and improve though.

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avisreadsandreads's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

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caseythereader's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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