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lucybbookstuff 's review for:
A Woman Is No Man
by Etaf Rum
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a very worthwhile story to tell. Very sad but with a sliver of hope and light at the end of the tunnel (though just the barest sliver). But I'm sorry to say I don't think it was written very well. It was sooooo incredibly repetitive. And not just in a "making us feel the characters' suffocating circumstances" way. Unfortunately, it was mainly in a poorly-crafted and -edited way.
I listened to this with a friend on a road trip and we frequently found ourselves laughing incredulously because OH MY GOD are they really having this EXACT same conversation AGAIN??? (And laughter is an entirely inappropriate response to ANYTHING in this story.) And not just one set of characters, but pretty much every character relationship had the same scene repeated multiple times throughout the book. Though it was most frustratingbetween Sara and Deya - like just give the girl some tangible advice, I BEG YOU 💀
The characters were sympathetic but the repetition (and thus the emphasis on their intransigence) made it hard to root for them.
That said, I do think it's an important story to tell. And I did come to understand most of the characters' motivations even if I can't identify with them in the slightest. I also see how it was all so influenced by the occupation of Palestine, though I do wish it had gone into that a bit more.
I think this could have made a really gripping novella. I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark as a novel.
However, I look forward to trying Evil Eye! I think Rum has interesting things to say, and talent for character writing, so I'd like to see how she went on from this debut.
I listened to this with a friend on a road trip and we frequently found ourselves laughing incredulously because OH MY GOD are they really having this EXACT same conversation AGAIN??? (And laughter is an entirely inappropriate response to ANYTHING in this story.) And not just one set of characters, but pretty much every character relationship had the same scene repeated multiple times throughout the book. Though it was most frustrating
The characters were sympathetic but the repetition (and thus the emphasis on their intransigence) made it hard to root for them.
That said, I do think it's an important story to tell. And I did come to understand most of the characters' motivations even if I can't identify with them in the slightest. I also see how it was all so influenced by the occupation of Palestine, though I do wish it had gone into that a bit more.
I think this could have made a really gripping novella. I'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark as a novel.
However, I look forward to trying Evil Eye! I think Rum has interesting things to say, and talent for character writing, so I'd like to see how she went on from this debut.