User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Susan Abulhawa writes a blend of fact and fiction, epic storytelling amidst the landscape of a conflict ridden and war torn Middle East, from the unashamed and unapologetic perspective of the Palestinian experience and struggle, of the suffering under the deadly Israeli occupation and resistance. Nahr, a political prisoner, is incarcerated in the harsh conditions of The Cube, a prison where time has ceased to have any meanng, in solitary confinement, where she narrates the life journey, the path she walked that led to her present predicament, her family, the countries she passed through from Kuwait, Jordan, losing faith in love and men, and eventually finding a sense of home and belonging in Palestine. Along the way, there has been great horrors, pain, terrors, becoming a refugee, having to do what ever it takes to survive, including prostitution and eventually joining the resistance.
Despite a dark and disturbing narrative, there is humour and hope, and eye opening insights into Palestinian culture with rich descriptions and details. This is a far from perfect read, Nahr is an amalgam of the real life experiences of more than one woman, weakening the coherence of her character, but this does not detract from the importance of this beautiful, well written novel, giving readers a glimpse and much needed knowledge of the grim realities, complexities, and injustices of the Palestinian occupation and the Middle East from the perspective of a woman. Many thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC.
Rating: really liked it
This is how you do it. Start the year with 5⭐️
What a stunning story told by Nahr, a woman who reflects on her past from a cell which is also known as the cube in Israel, as a political prisoner.
The crisis of being Palestinian and a woman in Kuwait, then being forced out into Palestine. Trying to develop her own sense of identity. Believing at a young age that marriage would be the answer only to find it wasn’t .
This is a about the challenges of living in occupied lands, being a female where women are not treated equally, about homosexuality and the stigma that surrounds it, about work that is less dignified but empowering when one can call the shots. Its about finding an identity and belonging; about finding love, forgiveness, hope and the power of friendship.
And it was a great one to begin the year with!
Rating: really liked it
Impactful and Haunting. There are a few books that have haunted me through the years, books that when I hear the titles take me right back. This will join that very short list. Nahr is such a complete character, we understand her thoughts, her actions, whether we agree with them or not. We first meet her in the cube, a new form of solitary confinement, she is now middle aged and reflecting on her last life. This will take the reader from Palestine, to Kuwait, to Jordan and back to Palestine.
She is an ordinary girl, friends, loving family, querulous grandmother, until events occur that are not in her control. Nations intervene and move people around that chess pieces, taking away homes, lives, and suppressing those who fight back. We've seen this time and time again, in many countries, but this focuses on Isreal and Palestine. It is heartbreaking and shows how those who are losing everything try to do, fight back with what little is available to them.
It is also a book about women, how they fare in times of conflict, what they are forced to do for survival of themselves and their families. A poignant look at a young woman caught up in the cross hairs of history and a conflict up that is still ongoing. It us hard not to be moved by her story.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Rating: really liked it
One thing I love about reading is it gives you opportunity to hear different perspectives. While I have read both fiction and nonfiction books about the Middle East, I'm not going to pretend I fully comprehend the complexities of the conflicts. All I can do is read, listen, and hopefully learn and I feel like by reading this book featuring a Palestinian refugee character, I was able to accomplish my goal of getting a different perspective. It was certainly a thought provoking reading experience.
Nahr was born in the 1970s in Kuwait to Palestinian refugees. With money being tight and wanting to help finance her brother going to school, she becomes a prostitute. The US invasion of Iraq makes life even more difficult for Nahr and her family in Kuwait, so they are forced to flee and end up in Jordan. The book will go back and forth between the present time of Nahr being held in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison and the key events in her life that eventually led to her being locked up in what is known as The Cube.
There are some graphic sexual assault scenes in this book so fair warning this is a difficult read. Nahr and other characters also express their thoughts on Israel and Jewish people. In my opinion, it fit within the context of the story. I guess what I am trying to say is it felt authentic in terms of being in line with what those characters would think and feel. Now whether you agree or disagree with their opinions and actions, that would be a good topic for a book club discussion.
This book can be classified as historical fiction because it incorporates events from a war torn Middle East but Nahr is a fictional character. It's my interpretation of the Acknowledgment page, the author has interviewed Middle Eastern women, including prisoners, and was able to use that info to create and develop the character. Nahr was a strong female lead character and I felt invested in her story.
This might not be a book for everyone, but it was a worthwhile read for me. I am definitely interested in reading other books by this author.
I received an advance digital copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
will I ever read anything this good ever again??? an absolutely magnificent portrait of struggle, triumph, survival, liberation, violence, and joy. long live the Palestinian liberation movement! free all political prisoners! love and communism will win!
Rating: really liked it
I was first drawn to this book by the beautiful and eye-catching cover, but after reading the synopsis I immediately added it to my TBR. It could be due to American media and news coverage, but I haven’t been exposed to much of the experiences of the Palestinian people. Any Gaza & West Bank related news in the US has typically been filtered through a strong pro-Israeli lens, which paints an uneven picture of the ongoing conflict in the region.
Told as flashbacks between present day Nahr as she is imprisoned in The Cube, an in humane solitary cell in an Israeli prison, and Nahr as she comes of age and into adulthood, Susan Abulhawa gives readers a peek into the struggles refugees face when they are deprived of the safety of their community and home. Moving from Kuwait to Jordan to Palestine, Nahr is forced to grow up fast in order to provide for herself and her family amongst that instability. She goes through a lot, and it’s painful to read at times. There could be some trigger warnings on this book, (view spoiler)
[sexual assault, abuse, torture (hide spoiler)], but these details are not added flippantly; they’re included in order to give a realistic depiction of what someone like Nahr could feasibly experience.
I think what struck me most while reading was how restrained Nahr’s actions were throughout the novel. I was expecting her to have a darker outlook, a more “radicalized” ideology based on the multitude of injustices and indignities that get thrust upon her again and again. But almost everything she does is for the sake of survival, and even when she occasionally lashes out beyond that, it’s with the expectation that she’ll be hit back ten times as hard in retribution—and she always is. I’m not sure if this is due to to Abulhawa’s ability to write an incredibly sympathetic character or because the treatment of Palestinians is so abhorrent that there’s no way to possibly root against the characters. Honestly, it’s probably a combination of the two; a triumph for an author in the midst of writing devastation.
I’m really interested to read more of Abulhawa’s work, especially Mornings in Jenin, which has received some glowing reviews. There’s something to be said about educating through empathy, and if reading fiction about a place and people which have been historically disregarded helps teach us about Palestine’s over fifty-year occupation by the Israeli military (since 1967), then I’m all for that. The description of the conditions political prisoners live in, the annexation tactics to drive Palestinians from their homes and the actual war crimes that individual soldiers as well as the military in its entirety engage in are breathtakingly despicable. And I’m glad authors like Abulhawa are here and writing about them.
The structure of the book worked for me on the whole, but I think the pacing could have been more consistent. I also tried to listen to the audiobook version, and it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Susan Abulhawa narrates her own book and while I appreciate when authors do this sometimes, I don’t think that was the best choice in this case. She spoke so quietly, I had to blast my phone’s speakers in order to make out the words. For works like memoirs and essay collections, it makes more sense for the author to double as a narrator, but for fiction....I don’t know. I think it’s generally better to leave it to the professionals. Maybe she couldn’t find an available narrator of Palestinian descent? Whatever the reason, I preferred reading the physical book to listening to it.
Thanks to Natalie for sending me a copy of this book! I told you I’d finally read it 😌**
For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!
Rating: really liked it
What took me so long to read this book? I’m so grateful I finally read it, and with my BFF, Biblio Beth.
About the book: “A sweeping and lyrical novel that follows a young Palestinian refugee as she slowly becomes radicalized while searching for a better life for her family throughout the Middle East, for readers of international literary bestsellers including Washington Black, My Sister, The Serial Killer, and Her Body and Other Parties.”
Told in the present, with Nahr imprisoned in a state of the art jail cell, and in the past, following her early life in Kuwait, her time spent as a refugee in Jordan, and then when she visits Palestine, Against the Loveless World is a sweeping and powerful story. It goes to raw and dark places for Nahr, but the darkness isn’t what it’s about.
To me, it’s about the resilience of women, especially Muslim women. It’s about survival and family and love- all different types of love, and while it has a love story, my favorite focus was the one on self-love, as I observed Nahr develop love for herself and gradually open up and show more of her heart as that love deepened.
I’m grateful for a different perspective on conflict in the Middle East and how the story, though gritty and heartrending in places, inspires empathy and perhaps even hope.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
This is the story of a Palestinian woman Nahr (meaning River) who lives in Kuwait until shortly after the US forces enter the country following the Iraqi occupation. She then relocates to Amman in Jordan and Palestine. She tells her story from The Cube, an Israeli prison. This is a story of conflict and resistance, of dangerous love and survival by any means possible. This is not an easy read and right now in the midst Covid pandemic may not be the best timing for such a book.
There are parts of the novel that flow well and other sections that drag. You get a clear picture of the conflict in this area albeit from one perspective. There are a multitude of characters to get your head around, some are peripheral and some who are portrayed in greater depth. I find Nahr an enigmatic puzzle as she seems to be so many different things, almost like several people rolled into one. Some of the relationships are very complex which is partly intriguing but by the same token can add to the confusion. There are some fantastic descriptions of places which I really enjoy and Nahr’s love of Kuwait pre 1990 really shines through. I like the food references principally because I love Middle Eastern food but also because it demonstrates the importance of celebratory feasting in that part of the world where there is a strong sense of family, extended family and community.
Overall, it’s an interesting book but with some reservations.
3.5 rounded up
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook…. read by Susan
Abulhawa
….13 hours and 10 minutes
One of the most harrowing, powerful, and imaginative books I’ve read.
In what was often the bleakest of bleakest ….Susan Abulhawa—an evocative fierce storyteller that makes every sentence count with of some of the most brutal-devastating prose I’ve ever read ….she also gave moments of hope -
With the horrifying topic of gang rape — and years of ugliness—Abulhawa blended the power of family and even beauty into this very unsettling novel…..
a close look at what happens in a world that fails us.
It must have taken sooo much courage (even the experience of agony)… just to have written this book.
Hundreds of other reviewers have included the specific details - so no need to reinvent the wheel …
but I’m glad I took my turn reading/listening it.
Susan’s soft voice felt real and authentic to me -a young unapologetic voice —matching nicely with the words she wrote.
But honestly, one of the most piercing-affecting books of all times.
I’d almost compare the painful experience I had - a similar reaction - to when I read ‘Mischling’ by Affinity Konar….
Unforgettable story ….
I will read Susan Abulhawa again.
Phenomenon writer!!
Sometimes more visual than I needed — but my god…
bless her talent and contribution!
Rating: really liked it
“Against the Loveless World” illuminates the struggles of people in war torn countries. Narrator Nahr is a Palestinian woman living in Kuwait during the Gulf war and resistance in Palestine. She lives with her mother, brother and grandmother after her husband abandoned her (the reader learns the reason later in the story). Her brother has dreams of becoming a doctor, but the family is poor. She inadvertently falls into high-end prostitution. She enjoys the power of her body, and she really enjoys financially benefitting her family.
Nahr’s narration is reflective and “quiet”. This is a powerful story of a family living through war and instability. The reader sees the perspective of the destruction caused by the United States involvement in the Gulf War. For Nahr, Saddam Hussein is her hero.
The story shifts from her current situation in “the Cube” which is solitary confinement in Israel, and her life in Kuwaiti. She is in the Cube after being convicted as a political terrorist. The mystery of how she got this conviction is a slow reveal. In her afterward, author Susan Abulhawa stated that she wanted to focus on the emotional tole of solitary confinement. She sought information from previous political prisoners, adding authenticity. Narrator Nahr’s life in the Cube is stifling and Abulhawa does a fantastic job making the reader feel the loneliness and emotional void.
This is the first novel I have read that is pro-Palestine, and I enjoyed becoming acquainted with that perspective. I read to learn and gain understanding. This novel will stick with me.
Rating: really liked it
Nahr is writing her story from The Cube, her prison cell in Israel. Her story begins with being born in Kuwait to a Palestinian refugee couple. She works hard all her life but finds the family always needs more money, and, in order to send her brother to university, she reluctantly turns to prostitution. The night that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait she had found herself in a gang rape situation, and said that Saddam saved her life. She loved living under Sadam until he was ousted. Her husband had abandoned her, and to obtain a divorce, she decided to go to Palestine for the first time, where she meets and adores her husband's mother and brother, Bilal. This experience and these people would change her life. But the rebel in her would not die, only flourish in her new home.
It is one woman's story (derived actually from a conglomeration of three women's stories). It is not only about her struggles and disappointments, but also her joys, her beloved family connections, and hope against all odds.
My favorite part was the chapter that included some quotes from James Baldwin's writings.
"...if we had not loved each other none of us would have survived." and
"You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger." and finally
"Here you were: to be loved. To be loved, baby, hard, at once, and forever, to strengthen you against the loveless world."Powerful stuff.
I loved this author's Mornings in Jenin and had all the same emotions here. I believe it is good to read about the Middle East conflict from different points of view because like most stories, there are good and bad people, good and bad actions, on both sides. Abdullah expresses her people's words with great beauty and eloquence. She is very convincing, but I don't doubt that her story is slanted. I will never understand everything about that conflict that never ends, so I try to keep an open mind.
The audiobook is narrated by the author, who has simply a very lovely voice. Told from the perspective of Nahr in a sad sort of way, Abulhawa's voice is perfect to depict Nahr's struggles and genuine sadness, as well as her f*ck it all attitude. But the narration for me was also full of problems.
The volume of Nahr's voice never changed. I needed to turn it up as high as it would go to hear her. But when reading any other voice, Abulhawa spoke much louder, which made audio listening quite difficult if not impossible at times. And some of the female voices were grating. I finally set it aside and read the ARC copy I had won from Goodreads.
Rating: really liked it
“I find that reporters and writers who come here don’t actually want to listen to me or hear my thoughts, except where I might validate what they already believe.” i forgot how to breathe while reading this book. stab after stab, straight to the heart.
Rating: really liked it
Book hangover ensues 😞
What a book!!!!
Rating: really liked it
actual masterpiece, the last 20 pages had me holding my breath; the characters and their relationships with one another were so vivid and real and HUMAN
Rating: really liked it
I feel like I've been waiting my entire life to read this book.
I lived in the Gaza strip from 1994-2000 - my youngest memories are of living in Palestine. I've spent my entire adult life attempting to explain the suffering of Palestine people to people who had only been told or taught about the *sovereignty* of Israel and this book felt like being heard, seen, recognized for the first time.
To have this beautiful work in mainstream fiction detailing the crimes that have been committed (and are still being committed) against Palestinian bodies feels like validation. The Palestinian story has been silenced, hidden, made taboo in US media and FINALLY we have a work of fiction we can turn to and say, "Here. Read this." Something that is not dusty non-fiction but a work of painfully beautiful prose detailing the highs and lows of a woman, a Palestinian woman at that.
This is a book about life, pain, struggle, beauty, triumph, failure, humanity, and love - it's about people who the world would like to erase but their strength will not allow. Palestinians are humans and their lives and stories cannot and will not be censored.
CW: Rape, death, trauma, death of a parent, abuse, miscarriage, abortion, domestic violence, violence and torture, graphic violence, forced displacement and colonialism.
