Hanzy
This is a story of waiting and wanting - not for mere desires, but for basic needs. It's a story that gives you hope and causes you deep empathy and possibly, shed some tears (I can't imagine not being affected). There were countless times where I wished I could teleport myself into the book to help, to share some food, to care. It's a book that'll help you to be grateful for all that you have and make you want to share with those that need it.
2.75
I went in with low expectations as I often tend to with books written by non native writers writing about the Middle East. I loved how gripped I'd been by the story and I enjoyed the writing a lot. However, I couldn't ignore all the little details that were clear indication of insufficient research and it irked me a lot. Terminologies being misused, associations of certain other cultures being confused with the one presented, other misrepresentations, and a wholly American narrative being used as a ‘voice' for the characters. While the author has done her best, the book still gives a superficial feel, a lack of authenticity to the people, culture, and the times being represented.
I still enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series because despite the parts that didn't settle well with me, the story had me hooked.
This book was recommended by a dear friend and while I somewhat had an understanding of the premise, I really did not expect it to go as dark, disturbing, and heavy as it did.
There's a lot to this book, a lot of emotions involved, perspectives explored, and a certain strangeness in the way I could accept and understand the characters decisions and choices yet wishing things to be different. It was an interesting read, I liked the writing, the themes explored, the exploration of certain consequences or effects of past horrors on our current lives, but I did have a hard time getting through the book because of of its majorly dark content. If you're someone who may get triggered definitely check the trigger warnings.
This book has taken the spot from ‘Bunny' by Mona Awad as my most disturbing and disorienting read of the year. It's everything that I did ‘not' expect and nothing that I did. The storytelling is engaging, however, and the only reason why I managed to finish it.
For readers who plan on reading this, I'd advise you to first, read the blurb, understand this is a collection of short stories (and don't end up confused like me in the initial few chapters), check the trigger/content warnings (I wish I had), and finally, expect a lot of your worst nightmares (or a reality that meshes so smoothly into the unnatural, taking turns that you may not have anticipated or expected.)
