Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

5 reviews

amina_writes_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

this books written narrative style is not at all unique from a literary point of view. There's allot of harsh transitions initially from the writers early days to present day at the start of the narrative, then this drops off entirely. The focus on the various prophets is unique, however Ill executed. And as the author "radicalizes" in her journey, her interpretations of the Quran become more and more abstract, and less and less backed by the tasfirs she supposedly has read. As someone who was raised a practicing Muslim and who is also queer, this book only highlights the abusive and oppressive nature of Islam as a whole. Very let down by this read as it had so much promise for many like me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Classism, Homophobia, and Islamophobia

dqrklightning's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I'm so emotinal. Read it in one sitting. Beautiful. Incredible. Made me feel more motivated for my Qur'an studies than I've been in years. Made me feel a little bit more in peace with my queerness and muslim identity.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Self harm

emilyjmasters's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

This was incredible. The way the author frames her journey to accepting and loving herself and her queerness through the stories of the Quran was really touching to me

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Homophobia

Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

_puberty2's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a beautifully written memoir. The way Lamya reflects on their life through parts of the Quran is nothing short of poetic. Her relationships with God and faith are so heartwarming to see as someone who grew up in religion and paid witness to the toxicity that it can elicit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Homophobia, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

thebookcoyote's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

TW/CW: Racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, domestic abuse, talk of suicide 

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily writing an honest review. 

Hijab Butch Blues is a memoir that is the story of a Southeast Asian Muslim who has to navigate the world between her religion and her queerness. 

This is a good book. It made me think in new ways and gave a perspective that isn’t heard from very often. The ways she wove together parts of the Quran with her life was interesting and gave a lot of insight into how she was feeling. I’m not a very religious person myself, but I still found this somewhat captivating. 

My one problem with this book was that it jumped around a lot and was sometimes choppy. It isn’t told in an linear fashion and it’s sometimes difficult to understand what came first, or how old she is, or exactly what is going on. 

Nonetheless, this was a good book, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to people of (any) faith.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racism

Minor: Suicide