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laurareads87 's review for:
The Bruising of Qilwa
by Naseem Jamnia
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this story. In The Bruising of Qilwa, Jamnia has created a compelling queer world with clear Persian influences and themes of identity, family, and migration. I was glad to read a comment from the author that they hope to write more stories in this world. I found this novella more successful in its exploration of its themes, gender especially, than in its plot; I did find it fairly obvious what the twist was going to be. The pacing didn't quite work in places, like this could've either been expanded into a novel or shrunk into a short story, but overall I'm glad I read it and look forward to checking out the author's next work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma
Moderate: Colonisation, Dysphoria