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khinkyaw's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Racism, War, Sexual assault, Rape, and Death
maxgdy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Islamophobia, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Hate crime, Violence, Genocide, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Rape, Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
rororow's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
mo_ber's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Genocide, Gun violence, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Colonisation
mrscorytee's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Rape
aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, and Gun violence
churglem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Colonisation, Death, Sexual violence, War, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
sarahrandall's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Rape
acnaib's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Gun violence and Genocide
thebookofbanana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first half is a harrowing depiction of a psychopathic soldier slowly overwhelmed by the stinging heat and suffocating humidity of an arid climate that is not his. It seeps into his body and his mind, releasing his inhibitions to make way for his natural cruelty. No longer governed by any formal laws or human morals, he repeatedly commits acts of unspeakable violence against an innocent. The writing is all from his perspective, leaving a fair amount of the details to the spiralling imagination of the reader, while doing just enough to make them realise exactly what is happening and how the victim is feeling.
This is, just another in a long line of similar atrocities, so common place that they’ve stopped eliciting a real response. In fact, what catches the eye of the Palestinian woman who is the protagonist of the second half of the book, is that this forgotten, minor detail of history took place on the same date as her own birth, albeit 25 years earlier. Unable to suppress the urge to know more, she sets off to investigate the incident.
I couldn’t help but feel like there’s a slight drop in quality between the two halves, as the second is told in such a didactic way that it felt like less of a story and more of procedural recounting of events, filled with details of living under the occupation that are absolutely important to convey and were definitely informative, but so crammed into the story that it left it feeling like reading a patronising history book for kids.
Still, I don’t want to take away from the importance of the novel too much. For the average layperson looking to learn more about the Israeli colonisation of Palestine, and the ongoing horror for the Palestinian civilians, then you will find this book useful. It’s just a shame that the second half wasn’t written very well.
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual violence