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fawzul's reviews
141 reviews
Open Throat by Henry Hoke
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
winner of the international booker prize, in 2023, minor detail was awarded the german "LiBeraturpreis" award that was supposed to be presented at the frankfurt bookfair.
days before, the organization in charge of presenting the award retracted their statement, citing "the war started by hamas, under which millions of people in Israel and palestine are suffering" as a reason not to award her onsite.
over a 1000 notable authors and critics would then come forward in support of adania shibli. the novel — just over a 140 pages long and written originally in arabic — centers two palestinian women in two distinct points in time. both women have no names, no inkling, no shared history towards one another except the same fate and birthday.
it is a linear narration — where a woman in ramallah tries to unearth a brutal rape and execution of a young arab woman by israeli soldiers in 1949. she is drawn to her the moment she discovers her death and it is what she sets to discover that we understand. they are two women in two different points in time who suffer not under the consequences of war but occupation.
a profound read and necessary, now more than ever.
days before, the organization in charge of presenting the award retracted their statement, citing "the war started by hamas, under which millions of people in Israel and palestine are suffering" as a reason not to award her onsite.
over a 1000 notable authors and critics would then come forward in support of adania shibli. the novel — just over a 140 pages long and written originally in arabic — centers two palestinian women in two distinct points in time. both women have no names, no inkling, no shared history towards one another except the same fate and birthday.
it is a linear narration — where a woman in ramallah tries to unearth a brutal rape and execution of a young arab woman by israeli soldiers in 1949. she is drawn to her the moment she discovers her death and it is what she sets to discover that we understand. they are two women in two different points in time who suffer not under the consequences of war but occupation.
a profound read and necessary, now more than ever.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Boulder by Eva Baltasar
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It feels impossible not to be swayed by Baltasar's prose and the richness of her lines. It is clear she is a poet. There is a dissonance from the Boulder that one can easily recognise — of what it means to be a woman, to be a mother, to be selfish but recognise it too.
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5