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heresthepencil's reviews
941 reviews
Podpalić Gazę by Ewa Jasiewicz
informative
5.0
i wish i could make everyone i know read this book.
it's roughly divided into four parts: 1) a brief history of isntreal and its numerous invasions on gaza before operation cast lead (wih a focus on the role of anders' army in the nakba); 2) a detailed account of operation cast lead, as seen by the author on the ground; 3) a number of personal stories about martyrs; and 4) a look at isntreal standing in the world, especially its relations with the us and with poland.
i spent the last few months watching videos of massacre after massacre committed by the iof, and yet some of the descriptions in this book still took me by surprise. but it's that last part that really shook me to my core. i was in middle school and high school when all those events were taking place, and anyway i don't imagine they were even talked about publicly in the way they should be. i always just thought our gov supports instreal out of shame caused by our antisemitism, but turns out it runs so much deeper than that & it's so much more disgusting. the poland-isntreal-us love triangle truly belongs in hell.
it's roughly divided into four parts: 1) a brief history of isntreal and its numerous invasions on gaza before operation cast lead (wih a focus on the role of anders' army in the nakba); 2) a detailed account of operation cast lead, as seen by the author on the ground; 3) a number of personal stories about martyrs; and 4) a look at isntreal standing in the world, especially its relations with the us and with poland.
i spent the last few months watching videos of massacre after massacre committed by the iof, and yet some of the descriptions in this book still took me by surprise. but it's that last part that really shook me to my core. i was in middle school and high school when all those events were taking place, and anyway i don't imagine they were even talked about publicly in the way they should be. i always just thought our gov supports instreal out of shame caused by our antisemitism, but turns out it runs so much deeper than that & it's so much more disgusting. the poland-isntreal-us love triangle truly belongs in hell.
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rep: bi mcs
tw: mentions of self harm, depression
i was gonna give this 3 stars out of pity but the last two emails made me gag. i've never been more disappointed - i should have eat this book up! it has everything i love: messy characters, almost non-existent plot, cool formatting idea. and yet, the execution is just unbearable.
this whole book just feels like a very bad plot summary, in the sense that the prose is completely devoid of any emotions, beauty or character, and simultaneously it's needlessly focused on the most innate and unnecessary of details. movie scripts tend to be more moving than whatever this is. my theory is that with those ridiculous descriptions she wanted to highlight how mundane their lives are, but please, my life is uneventful too and i was still bored out of my mind while reading.
the omnipresent narrator absolutely doesn't help; i am aware, though, that this is strictly a personal preference.
tw: mentions of self harm, depression
i was gonna give this 3 stars out of pity but the last two emails made me gag. i've never been more disappointed - i should have eat this book up! it has everything i love: messy characters, almost non-existent plot, cool formatting idea. and yet, the execution is just unbearable.
this whole book just feels like a very bad plot summary, in the sense that the prose is completely devoid of any emotions, beauty or character, and simultaneously it's needlessly focused on the most innate and unnecessary of details. movie scripts tend to be more moving than whatever this is. my theory is that with those ridiculous descriptions she wanted to highlight how mundane their lives are, but please, my life is uneventful too and i was still bored out of my mind while reading.
the omnipresent narrator absolutely doesn't help; i am aware, though, that this is strictly a personal preference.
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tw: racism, corporal punishment, fatphobia
what a cute wholesome fantasy! absolutely bonkers in the best way. the atmosphere, the execution, the foreshadowing? delicious!!!
but oh, it's such a 70s' book and it sure did not age well lmao
what a cute wholesome fantasy! absolutely bonkers in the best way. the atmosphere, the execution, the foreshadowing? delicious!!!
but oh, it's such a 70s' book and it sure did not age well lmao
Gaza Weddings by Ibrahim Nasrallah
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
rep: Palestinian cast
tw: murders, blood, bombs, snipers
you could fill oceans with resilience and humanity of the palestinian people.
required reading, i think. absolutely gorgeous writing, poetry really; gorgeous idea, gorgeous execution. so this is the kind of art that living among martyrs makes people create!
of course, it's devastating, it puts to page all the horrors you see in videos from palestinian journalists, both almost as an after-thought and as the most important thing that has ever happened in human history. such a clever little book.
tw: murders, blood, bombs, snipers
you could fill oceans with resilience and humanity of the palestinian people.
required reading, i think. absolutely gorgeous writing, poetry really; gorgeous idea, gorgeous execution. so this is the kind of art that living among martyrs makes people create!
of course, it's devastating, it puts to page all the horrors you see in videos from palestinian journalists, both almost as an after-thought and as the most important thing that has ever happened in human history. such a clever little book.
"Exterminate All the Brutes": One Man's Odyssey Into the Heart of Darkness and the Origins of European Genocide by Sven Lindqvist
dark
informative
reflective
3.5
extremely readable. but also disjointed to the point where some bits (mostly dreams descriptions) seem absolutely unnecessary.
first half, if not more, is heavily focused on conrad's heart of darkness (where the title comes from), on conrad himself and his friendships with other writers, and things he might have read that influenced him. then there's a sudden switch to a focus on theories of "evolution", which is really just a fancy way of saying: the origins of european genocide. a lot of examples of how we used super convoluted ideas to excuse horrible massacres. (and i mean a lot, name after name, sometimes hard to keep track of.) and in the last ten pages the author remembers conrad, and tries to quickly tie it all together.
so it's not a history of european genocide in the sense that it outlines one after another the catastrophes we've caused, but rather an overview of our destroying nations & cultures & peoples. mostly examples most eerily similar to scenes from conrad's book & a look into all the explanations we've come up with for colonialism. with a neverending refrain of "exterminate all the brutes". about lindqvist's own journey into africa we just learn a few details (uncomfortable buses, heat, sand), wierd childhood memories and even weirder dreams.
first half, if not more, is heavily focused on conrad's heart of darkness (where the title comes from), on conrad himself and his friendships with other writers, and things he might have read that influenced him. then there's a sudden switch to a focus on theories of "evolution", which is really just a fancy way of saying: the origins of european genocide. a lot of examples of how we used super convoluted ideas to excuse horrible massacres. (and i mean a lot, name after name, sometimes hard to keep track of.) and in the last ten pages the author remembers conrad, and tries to quickly tie it all together.
so it's not a history of european genocide in the sense that it outlines one after another the catastrophes we've caused, but rather an overview of our destroying nations & cultures & peoples. mostly examples most eerily similar to scenes from conrad's book & a look into all the explanations we've come up with for colonialism. with a neverending refrain of "exterminate all the brutes". about lindqvist's own journey into africa we just learn a few details (uncomfortable buses, heat, sand), wierd childhood memories and even weirder dreams.
Zionist Colonialism in Palestine by Fayez A. Sayegh
informative
5.0
not to use buzzwords, but this essay is a must-read for anyone who wants to clearly see why the zionist settler colonial state of israel is the way it is. and how palestinians have been resisting it since its conception.
apart from its vital link with imperialism and its inescapable status as a total stranger to the middle east, in the heart of which it has chosen to plant itself, the political embodiment of zionist colonialism (namely, the zionist settler-state of israel) is characterised chiefly by three features: 1) its racial complexion and racist conduct pattern; 2) its addiction to violence, and 3) its expansionist stance.
Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
informative
5.0
it's stated at the beginning that any revolutionary party's aims & politics should be clear enough to be understood by the masses (since it is all for them), and this document does exactly that. palestine will be free!
This Time We Went Too Far: Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion by Norman G. Finkelstein, Ahmed Yousef
informative
reflective
4.0
it’s a very angry book, but also a somewhat hopeful one.
angry in the sense that finkelstein is very obviously furious with israel, like any sane person with a working conscience should be. he’s rude and sarcastic, yes, but that doesn’t stop him from being fair and meticulously pointing out every lie & crime of “israel”. there’s a lot of statistics and direct quotes from idf soldiers taking part in the massacre.
the book focuses on the operation cast lead of december 2008-january 2009, and the goldstone’s UN report stating that “israel” committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. (it was written before goldstone changed his mind about idf intentionally targeting palestinian civilians.) the title itself is a quote from a column by an israeli journalist gideon levy, regarding the report.
and the book is (cautiously) hopeful in its overall conclusion: that things are changing. that the general public’s support of “israel” is lowering, becoming less natural. that the propaganda machine is beginning to break. granted, finkelstein wrote it in 2010, and here we are in 2024, exactly three months after the start of the most recent aggression and barely a few years after the aggression of may 2021. but boycotts are losing giants billions of dollars, celebrities’ kids are wearing sweatshirts with palestine motifs, the protests around the whole world haven’t really stopped for a second since october. maybe he is right, however excruciatingly slow this change is.
angry in the sense that finkelstein is very obviously furious with israel, like any sane person with a working conscience should be. he’s rude and sarcastic, yes, but that doesn’t stop him from being fair and meticulously pointing out every lie & crime of “israel”. there’s a lot of statistics and direct quotes from idf soldiers taking part in the massacre.
the book focuses on the operation cast lead of december 2008-january 2009, and the goldstone’s UN report stating that “israel” committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. (it was written before goldstone changed his mind about idf intentionally targeting palestinian civilians.) the title itself is a quote from a column by an israeli journalist gideon levy, regarding the report.
and the book is (cautiously) hopeful in its overall conclusion: that things are changing. that the general public’s support of “israel” is lowering, becoming less natural. that the propaganda machine is beginning to break. granted, finkelstein wrote it in 2010, and here we are in 2024, exactly three months after the start of the most recent aggression and barely a few years after the aggression of may 2021. but boycotts are losing giants billions of dollars, celebrities’ kids are wearing sweatshirts with palestine motifs, the protests around the whole world haven’t really stopped for a second since october. maybe he is right, however excruciatingly slow this change is.
Dziewczyna z konbini by Sayaka Murata
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.0
rep: Japanese cast, autistic-coded mc
the excruciating exploitation of both capitalism & patriarchy told through the lens of a "perfect" convenience store worker. depressing and terrifying, and the way keiko's brain works absolutely stops you in your tracks. it's very telling that it's the skeleton-like, unwashed, despised leach of a misogynistic man who's the only anti-capitalist character here.
the excruciating exploitation of both capitalism & patriarchy told through the lens of a "perfect" convenience store worker. depressing and terrifying, and the way keiko's brain works absolutely stops you in your tracks. it's very telling that it's the skeleton-like, unwashed, despised leach of a misogynistic man who's the only anti-capitalist character here.