Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon

1 review

rzh's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i just... could not get into this book. the chapters were disjointed and, though i imagine the intended effect was to create little sketches of jawad's life, the actual impact was disjointed and lumpy. the book had no structure or discernable point. though the portrayal of war and violence was harrowing, and the writing at times was lyrical and impactful, the metaphors were overwrought, cliche, and at times just... bad. 
the two female love interests were only viewed through the lens of sex: the first
decided she was no longer worthy of love as soon as she didn't have a breast (written by a man, this is uncomfortable to read) and the second is only used for secret night-time trysts, and is portrayed as desperate for sex; there's a bit where jawad sees her sitting painting her toenails with part of her thigh exposed, which he takes as her flirting with him. NOT TO MENTION she is literally a teenager !!
. the sex scenes read like bad fanfiction. though, granted, the way that jawad sees and tallks about women could be read as a result of his emotional numbness and pain, it is presented without comment or insinuation that this might be the case, that he could be an unreliable narrator of sorts. to be honest, its just uncomfortable to read and i can't believe no other reviews mentioned this. in fact, the only character who feels fully rendered is jawad, who narrates the entire story. the rest of the characters are sidelined and neglected. for a book which, by all accounts, has a lot of things happen in it, it is startling just how eventless it feels. characters appear, die, leave and come back, and all the while the book feels like it just trundles through these stand-alone chapters with nothing really happening. just a bit disappointing if i'm honest. 2/5
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