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A review by jennaclarek
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
this book has content warnings for self-harm, death of a brother, grief, and suicidal thoughts
okay SO this is definitely different from avleos (for many reasons) but i think it's still a stunning book. i don't want to rate it because i don't think it is rateable for me? like yes it was enjoyable and the writing is great and i enjoyed it but i just don't know where a rating would be. because i think overall my issues with it were the plot and the ending?
what i think is so interesting is that this book is centered on shadi and JOY and ultimately...this is a very sorrowful book. it's full of grief and harsh words and hate and death, and the joy is buried deep deep down. and the more i sit with it, the more poetic it is. but that doesn't change the fact that i just...was not a fan of how some of the plot played out.
but i absolutely LOVED the writing style (as always), loved all the commentary on faith and god and learning more about persian culture...tahereh has a wonderful gift for words and i feel honored that i get to step into her head once again. this book is so important, and i cherish it deeply.
okay SO this is definitely different from avleos (for many reasons) but i think it's still a stunning book. i don't want to rate it because i don't think it is rateable for me? like yes it was enjoyable and the writing is great and i enjoyed it but i just don't know where a rating would be. because i think overall my issues with it were the plot and the ending?
Spoiler
mainly that we don't have a lot of closure - which i think is the point and so i'm trying to come around to it.what i think is so interesting is that this book is centered on shadi and JOY and ultimately...this is a very sorrowful book. it's full of grief and harsh words and hate and death, and the joy is buried deep deep down. and the more i sit with it, the more poetic it is. but that doesn't change the fact that i just...was not a fan of how some of the plot played out.
Spoiler
also i was just really confused about noah? like i felt like his purpose was just...to show that shadi could make friends? which is fine i guess but i wanted more from his character i guess...and i felt like we deserved more information about zahra or some kind of resolution there? idk i'm not usually good with no closure books - and like, i get why there's no closure! i really do! but i'm still miffed about it. i think there could've been a happy medium somewhere.but i absolutely LOVED the writing style (as always), loved all the commentary on faith and god and learning more about persian culture...tahereh has a wonderful gift for words and i feel honored that i get to step into her head once again. this book is so important, and i cherish it deeply.