A review by starrysteph
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

It’s hard to find the words to describe this reading experience. Against the Loveless World was exquisitely written, heart-wrenching, and captivating while moving fluidly through time.

We follow Nahr, a woman imprisoned alone in a modern cell she calls The Cube. When she is one day granted a pencil and journal, she begins reflecting and writing about her life and the events that led up to her imprisonment. Nahr was born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees, and is relatively content there, dreaming of a happy life with a family and career. However, as life shifts, she becomes a refugee herself and slowly becomes radicalized while dreaming of a better life for herself and her family. Her journey takes her back to Palestine, where the Israeli occupation threatens everything she loves. 

I was completely immersed in Nahr’s story. It read almost like a memoir, and it was tricky to pull back and remember this is fiction. Nahr is funny, sharp, and relatable. Her narrative voice felt so authentic and honest and confessional … I was leaning in more with each page.

You know where Nahr ends up, and yet the tension and stakes were incredibly high throughout the entire journey. I never quite knew what would happen next.

“But I know now that going from place to place is just something exiles have to do. Whatever the reason, the earth is never steady beneath our feet.”

As the daughter and granddaughter of refugees, Nahr knows a lot about holding onto home and creating home wherever you go. Her identity constantly shifts both out of survival and rapid displacement. Nahr has many names and adapts to a great number of situations, though her suffering is fresh each time a tie to a place or person is severed.

This is an emotional read, and that has a lot to do with the resilience of these characters. Nahr shows so much strength and love in the face of indescribable grief and loss and suffering. Her relationship with Bilal was so beautiful; and also broke me in two. 

“No one had ever kissed me with such love, and it occurred to me that happiness can reach such depths that it becomes something akin to grief.”

It’s an incredible read. Embrace it as it radicalizes you (or engages you further). 

CW: death, murder, rape, sexual assault, colonization, confinement, war, torture, police brutality, abortion, racism, genocide, islamophobia, gun violence, xenophobia, grief, sexism, homophobia, religious bigotry, miscarriage, death of parent, death of child, infidelity, infertility, excrement, mental illness, terminal illness, cancer, deportation, fire, adult/minor relationship

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