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Susan Abulhawa: Against the Loveless World (2020, Atria Books) 5 stars

A sweeping and lyrical novel that follows a young Palestinian refugee as she slowly becomes …

Review of 'Against the Loveless World' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It's hard to find words that do justice to this story. Nahr is a Palestinian woman in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison. From the confines of what she calls "the Cube", she relates her story from her exiled childhood in Kuwait, to further exile in Jordan after the Iraq invasion, then finally finding "home" in her family's homeland of Palestine. Along the way, she is forced to make difficult choices in order to support her family, but her strong-willed nature and courage allow her to prevail even with the land is shifting beneath her feet. There was so much beauty in the strong family and friendship connections that Nahr builds throughout her life, and I was warmed by the strong sense of love for her people and her connection to the beautiful land of her ancestors. But the most compelling thing about this book is the perspective it offers on the events that have shaped this part of the world over the course of my lifetime, and the true human impact of those events. Highly recommend.