Against the Loveless World

I’m still processing the wave of emotions this book stirred in me, and the thoughts and reflections it continues to provoke

avoid the audiobook!

okay i’m only at the halfway point, but i’m struggling to get through. the prose is clunky, characters are pretty flat, but most of all—the audiobook reading is horrible. i applaud the author for giving it her best shot, but any voice other than the narrator’s is cartoony and goofy, even when talking about super heavy topics.

4.5

i think this is one of the best books i've ever read. i have no words to describe the beauty!

Ketika Nahr ditempatkan di sel tahanan tersendiri, dia menghabiskan waktunya dengan mengingat-ingat kejadian dramatis yang membuatnya berakhir di penjara sebuah negara yang hampir tidak pernah dikenalnya, Palestina. Lahir di tahun 70-an di Kuwait dari pasangan pengungsi dari Palestina, dia bermimpi akan bertemu dengan laki-laki sempurna, punya anak, bahkan membuka salon kecantikan sendiri.
Yang terjadi malah sebaliknya, Nahr ditinggalkan oleh suaminya, keluarganya diambang kemiskinan, dia terpaksa melacur, lalu invasi Irak atas Kuwait membuatnya menjadi pengungsi, seperti orang tuanya, menuju Yordania. Pada akhirnya dia menginjakkan kaki di Palestina, ketika akhirnya Nahr ditakdirkan untuk menemukan rumah dan jatuh cinta, di bawah penjajahan israel.
Buku kedua Susan yang aku baca dengan tokoh utama masih seorang diaspora yang akhirnya kembali ke Palestina setelah terusir dua kali, saat nakba 1948 dan Perang enam Hari 1967. Latar belakangnya kutemukan mirip dengan Salt Houses dan aku lebih menikmati cara bercerita Susan Abulhawa, dibanding Hala Alyan.
Disini Susan menceritakan Nahr kembali ke Palestina di bagian tepi barat, dimana ekspansi pemukiman yahudi berkembang pesat. Di buku sebelumnya, The Blue Between Sky And Water, diceritakan tokohnya kembali ke Palestina di bagian Gaza. Untuk kalian yang penasaran bagaimana kehidupan rakyat Palestina dibawah pendudukan militer (Tepi Barat) dan dibawah blokade militer (Gaza), aku sangat merekomendasikan buku-buku Susan Abulhawa.

Susan Abulhawa, you are a prism to the light of language and storytelling. ‘Against the Loveless World' is electric, comforting, righteous, and somber. The writing is fantastic is what I'm trying to say. As someone who grew up outside of Arab culture, and really everyone except for white American and Black culture, I am so filled with a comfort and familiarity in the way that Abulhawa so thoughtfully and deliberately writes about it here. Reading 384 pages of a first accounting of Palestinian culture, history, and strife is rapidly mind-growing. It's helped me gain such a deeper understanding of the struggle of living under occupation in an unjust world. The way Nahr (the main character) explores the stories of the women she's been in her life and ends up being an amalgamation of all of them is so beautifully portrayed. The emotion of millions of people live within these pages and each one has a way of affecting us. I love this book with all my heart. I think of the Palestinian people every day and I pray that we see an end to the occupation and a Free Palestine in my lifetime.

My tears are not yet dry as I write this. This book tore out my heart, but in such a beautiful and delicate way, that I feel thankful for it, and want Abulhawa to do it to me again.
Please read this book if you haven't yet. It is SO fucking beautiful, and full of what we need more of in this loveless world.

After reading The Blue Between Sky and Water, I started this book fully expecting to have my heart utterly obliterated and that's maybe why I wasn't as crushed by this one. Nahr was everything and she could have easily been turned in a caricature but the way Abulhawa dealt with her was nothing short of masterful (she really doesn't miss). While there is heartbreak a plenty in there there's also sweetness and hope.

Nahr is an amazing main character - she has such a strong consistent personality, but still shows such growth. Her story is vibrant and she is a real, honest portrayal of a person, good and bad, which I love. The skipping from past to present is so effective, and the story is woven so beautifully.

4.5 stars!

Fun fact: I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I checked it out from the library. I was placing a hold on Loveless by Alice Oseman, and this one popped up in the search results. The cover was absolutely stunning and caught my attention immediately. I clicked over to Goodreads to read a summary but stopped myself when I remembered one of my challenges for 2022 is to read a book I know nothing about.

So I checked it out and proceeded to be positively floored. It was masterfully written, heartbreaking, beautiful, engaging, and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I could not have lucked out more with my random mystery book!

Loved the book and appreciated the strong development of the characters as they moved across the Middle East. This was the best book I read in quite a while and highly recommend reading it.