A review by trickphoenix
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

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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