Reader Score
91%
91% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 7 reviews on
"Susan Abulhawa possesses the heart of a warrior; she looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can illuminate hidden worlds for us." --Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
In this "beautiful...urgent" novel (The New York Times), Nahr, a young Palestinian woman, fights for a better life for her family as she travels as a refugee throughout the Middle East.
As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the seventies to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she's forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation. Nahr's subversive humor and moral ambiguity will resonate with fans of My Sister, The Serial Killer, and her dark, contemporary struggle places her as the perfect sister to Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties.
Written with Susan Abulhawa's distinctive "richly detailed, beautiful, and resonant" (Publishers Weekly) prose, this powerful novel presents a searing, darkly funny, and wholly unique portrait of a Palestinian woman who refuses to be a victim.
Full-time anxious wreck & part-time inconsistent book blogger. Mostly into Fiction, Political Economy & Economic Sociology ⚽📚🎵
Best remedy for a fever is books in bed. Doctor's orders. 📚"Against The Loveless World" - Susan Abulhawa 📚 "Madonna is Our Mother" - @mutiphoya 📚"If I Am To Die, Let Me Die In Poetry" - @lexa_upile https://t.co/5xZrQZFLUD
#blacklivesmatter #freepalestine
susan abulhawa did it again with against the loveless world 10/10 book, wish I could forget it so I can start it again 😭
Gen X Nerd. Professional Patient brad_dmag https://t.co/ZNM92K1a1E
RT @Brisa@disabled.social Currently reading Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, and this book is absolutely gripping and heartbreaking in so many ways. Definitely a must-read. About halfway through 68 percent through reading right now. Link to book through my (1/2)