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Against the Loveless World
Against the Loveless World: Shortlisted for Palestine Book Award | Susan Abulhawa
Nahr has been confined to the Cube: nine square metres of glossy grey cinderblock, devoid of time, its patterns of light and dark nothing to do with day and night. Journalists visit her, but get nowhere; because Nahr is not going to share her story with them. The world outside calls Nahr a terrorist, and a whore; some might call her a revolutionary, or a hero. But the truth is, Nahr has always been many things, and had many names. She was named for the river her pregnant mother crossed when she fled from Palestine, but her feckless father called her Yaqoot, Ruby. For a time when she came of age she was Almas, Diamond, a girl who went to hidden parties in Kuwait with powerful men, who sold off parts of herself to keep her family together. She was a girl who learned, early and painfully, that when you are a second class citizen love is a kind of desperation; she learned, above all else, to survive. She was a girl who went to Palestine in the wrong shoes, and without looking for it found what she had always lacked in the basement of a battered beauty parlour: purpose, politics, friends. She found a dark-eyed man called Bilal, who taught her to resist; who tried to save her when it was already too late. Nahr sits in the Cube, and tells her story to Bilal. Bilal, who isn't there; Bilal, who may not even be alive, but who is her only reason to get out.
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AbstractMonica
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So much to say about this novel, but I‘ll keep it short. A devastating insight to a Palestinian woman‘s life from her teens to older age. Taking place in Kuwait and Jordan where her family has to survive as refugees. Finally, she visits Palestine to visit family and tie up loose ends. She eventually joins the resistance against the Israeli occupation. Heartbreaking story. I was rooting for Nahar. Loved the reference to James Baldwin in this novel.

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SconsinBookyBadger
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I have my book & snacks. Pistachio settled down too soon & I‘m about to commit a crime. 🙀 That‘s right I have to move Pistachio to get my mug of coffee I was brewing.

#CatsOfLitsy

Leftcoastzen 😂😾 5d
SconsinBookyBadger @Leftcoastzen and Pistachio gave me a well deserved paw swat 🐾 😼 4d
17 likes2 comments
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Melismatic
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A timely choice — Women‘s Month, Ramadan, obviously the devastating situation in Gaza. This book sets up a modern-adjacent timeline from the POV of a young Palestinian woman (and largely focuses on the women in her orbit, her family & friends), a history of sorts of her life as effected by the conflict & general misogyny. Well done but a painful read. Triggers abound.

Ddzmini Looks yummy 🤤 1w
30 likes1 comment
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Michellesibs
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From Kuwait, to Jordan, to Palestine, this is a story of displacement. Wrapped up in beautifully structured sentences, the smell of mint tea in the air, this book is harrowing.

I knew Iraq had invaded and occupied Kuwait for a time but I didn't know an awful lot about it and I didn't know the ramifications that's people faced after Kuwait was liberated. This book is a history lesson, wrapped up like a memoir, written in a narrative format.

danx Hadn‘t heard of this one, will have to seek out a copy! 1mo
Michellesibs @danx I hope you get as much out of it as I did 😊 1mo
44 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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sharmeen_sifar
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WOW

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GatheringBooks
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#MayMoms Day 4: A great deal of #Loving in this unforgettable and powerful novel that is perfect for our #DecolonizeBookshelves2022 reading theme. Review is forthcoming.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Oh my!! This looks delicious and beautiful 🤩 2y
Eggs Well done 🥞🍫☕️ 2y
65 likes2 comments
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rsteve388
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Such a beautiful, heart wrenching story of strength, courage and resilience. Excellent story of Palestine Colonization and the horrors of that terrible conflict. Eye opening.

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GatheringBooks
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#GratefulHarvest Day 14: Flecks of #Orange in this novel.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful ☕️ ❤️ 2y
batsy Pretty! 2y
42 likes2 comments
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Ellohcin
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Current read.

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BekaReid
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This is one that will linger awhile. Told in the narrative voice of a Palestinian woman in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison, we hear Nahr's story on her terms and how she sought control over her own life defying rules and expectations placed on her.

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JulieAly
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This book was incredible! It was an emotional roller coaster filled with heartbreak and love. I was in a bit of a reading slump before picking this up but thankfully it pulled me out of it. I highly recommend but have some tissues on hand.

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UnabridgedPod
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Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Susan Abulhawa‘s Against the Loveless World in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 25, 2020.⠀

I requested Susan Abulhawa‘s Against the Loveless World after absolutely loving her novel Mornings in Jenin (I read it as part of a buddy read with @readwithtoni). This one is, for me, even better.⠀

You can read my review at unabridgedpod.com.

Cathythoughts Wow! I loved Mornings in Jenin, I must look this one up 👍🏻❤️ 4y
UnabridgedPod @Cathythoughts I definitely would recommend it!! 4y
20 likes2 comments