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enzsch 's review for:
Against the Loveless World
by Susan Abulhawa
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is soooo excellent! Susan Abulhawa does so much in this book and she does it so fucking well.
It flicks between coming-of-age messiness, romance, heistyness, grim horrors of genocide, family dynamics in a way that feels seamless, GOAT status. Similarly, the tone also adjusts appropriately between being deeply emotional, brutally frank, and wry and witty. As a result, the pacing is god-tier, I always wanted to keep reading (especially impressive considering the subject matter). It was also very well-done to intersperse all the action with the reflections from Nahr's time in the cube, which gave the mind a small pause.
The characterisation in this book is simply outstanding. Of course Nahr and all of her names, her brother, Sitti Wasfiyeh, Bilal <3, Um Buraq <3 <3, Jumana, the slight masculine toxicity of Ghassan, Hajjeh Um Mhammad. The way that characters are weaved in and out of the story, and hints are dropped that certain people will come back was very intriguing. Um Buraq is potentially one of the most readable characters I have ever come across. I loved reading her morally dubious, unhinged ways, chaotic good taken to the extreme.
The war writing in this is harrowing and powerful. The Harvest chapter was especially brutal and was extremely effective at conveying the reality of the genocide. I was struck by how practiced Palestinian's have had to become at going about their daily activities always with the assumption that they could be being watched, how recovering from assault after assault is forcibly made into a routine.
I loved so much of this book, but some parts stand out:
- Nahr's time in Kuwait being prostituted by Um Buraq
- Hanging out in Amman with Sitti Wasfiyeh
- Her first period in Palestine, meeting her comrades and meeting her new home
- The gun heist
- The Harvest and Bilal's time in and out of prison
- Her and Bilal's moments of peace (their marriage chapter is Open Water-coded!)
- The fallout of the final resistance movement. Finding out what has happened in small and devastating pieces.
- Getting detailed about the mind games that Israel inflicts on Palestine and the ways they devise to do what they can.
It flicks between coming-of-age messiness, romance, heistyness, grim horrors of genocide, family dynamics in a way that feels seamless, GOAT status. Similarly, the tone also adjusts appropriately between being deeply emotional, brutally frank, and wry and witty. As a result, the pacing is god-tier, I always wanted to keep reading (especially impressive considering the subject matter). It was also very well-done to intersperse all the action with the reflections from Nahr's time in the cube, which gave the mind a small pause.
The characterisation in this book is simply outstanding. Of course Nahr and all of her names, her brother, Sitti Wasfiyeh, Bilal <3, Um Buraq <3 <3, Jumana, the slight masculine toxicity of Ghassan, Hajjeh Um Mhammad. The way that characters are weaved in and out of the story, and hints are dropped that certain people will come back was very intriguing. Um Buraq is potentially one of the most readable characters I have ever come across. I loved reading her morally dubious, unhinged ways, chaotic good taken to the extreme.
The war writing in this is harrowing and powerful. The Harvest chapter was especially brutal and was extremely effective at conveying the reality of the genocide. I was struck by how practiced Palestinian's have had to become at going about their daily activities always with the assumption that they could be being watched, how recovering from assault after assault is forcibly made into a routine.
I loved so much of this book, but some parts stand out:
- Nahr's time in Kuwait being prostituted by Um Buraq
- Hanging out in Amman with Sitti Wasfiyeh
- Her first period in Palestine, meeting her comrades and meeting her new home
- The gun heist
- The Harvest and Bilal's time in and out of prison
- Her and Bilal's moments of peace (their marriage chapter is Open Water-coded!)
- The fallout of the final resistance movement. Finding out what has happened in small and devastating pieces.
- Getting detailed about the mind games that Israel inflicts on Palestine and the ways they devise to do what they can.