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A review by whatjamieread
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are a million things I want to write about this story but all of my thoughts are grounded in one central idea: how terribly unfair it is to live life as a refugee, constantly being uprooted from your life, and not having a place to call your home. The MC, Nahr, is an imperfect person and she sometimes made choices that I didn't agree with. But regardless of her actions, I can't deny how truly brave and resilient she is. She experiences so much life in such a short time and even in situations that I feel are impossible to come back from, she finds a way to keep moving.
It would have been incredibly easy for her to resign herself to the fact that her life is completely out of her control at multiple points in the story however, she refuses to lose herself amongst the pain or lose the autonomy of her own choices. Even when she's in solitary confinement, she finds ways to assert control and remain herself when it's clear that the prison is actively trying to strip away her humanity.
It's impossible NOT to sympathize with someone who is persecuted for simply existing and though I can't say I agree with certain decisions the resistance made, it only makes sense that they would respond to repeated violence from Israeli soldiers the way they did. I mentioned that I don't feel that it's my place to say whether Nahr is "right" or "wrong" but I am capable of discerning the fact that she, or any human being for that matter, should have never have been forced to live the life she did as a refugee in the first place and by the end of the story, I was reminded of the extent of my privilege as an American.
5⭐️ to this beautiful, painful, emotional book.
Full Review on my blog: https://tinyurl.com/9a4e9n3q
It would have been incredibly easy for her to resign herself to the fact that her life is completely out of her control at multiple points in the story however, she refuses to lose herself amongst the pain or lose the autonomy of her own choices. Even when she's in solitary confinement, she finds ways to assert control and remain herself when it's clear that the prison is actively trying to strip away her humanity.
It's impossible NOT to sympathize with someone who is persecuted for simply existing and though I can't say I agree with certain decisions the resistance made, it only makes sense that they would respond to repeated violence from Israeli soldiers the way they did. I mentioned that I don't feel that it's my place to say whether Nahr is "right" or "wrong" but I am capable of discerning the fact that she, or any human being for that matter, should have never have been forced to live the life she did as a refugee in the first place and by the end of the story, I was reminded of the extent of my privilege as an American.
5⭐️ to this beautiful, painful, emotional book.
Full Review on my blog: https://tinyurl.com/9a4e9n3q
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and Religious bigotry