Hali
I cant give it a full five stars, even if I feel compelled to do so. Critique sandwich:
The Good: Honestly a GREAT book. A journalistic venture by a woman into the world of women in Islamic Arabic-speaking countries written with a lot of empathy and the perfect mix between personal experience and explanation of facts. It holds a lot of knowledge on the Happenings of the 80s, having mostly been written during them, and contains references to events we can nowadays barely find traces of online, even if they were really important to the people and especially women at the time. There's so many little nice parts about the book I'd write a whole essay if I listed them all :P
The Bad: I REALLy, really appreciated a lot of the context and background knowledge the author gave. That's exactly why (as both a major in arab & islamic studies and a big leftie) I have to point out that some of her context is a bit... off. It doesnt reek of atheism, and overall, the author has a really good understanding of Islam and especially the people she met following it. I also dont know exactly HOW prevalent some discourses were at the time she wrote this book, considering a lot of the countries she visited didnt allow for a difference in opinion on Islamic matters. But some of the religious context she gives is a little short-handed, I think? Like e.g. for sure introducing Aisha as the Prophet's 6 year old wife, when thats a topic thats been pretty widely debated. She remarked at another point that a historic reading of the Koran wont change the opinion and power of people reading it literally, she couldve done it here too to illustrate how these stories have a real effect despite Aisha's age likely having been exaggerated. You will find other reviews that point out inconsistencies or issue regarding this too.
The Good, again: The author doesnt hold back on criticism and it feels so much more meaningful than when other people who have had no contact with Islamic culture and countries level the same criticisms at people because she says these things not out of hate, but out of a sense of justice. Her book ends with an anecdote about living in a place where women can choose whether to closely follow Islamic teachings or not and respecting each other. It's pretty damn beautiful.
Contains spoilers
It's somewhere between greatly written and embarrassingly out of touch. The main character Anna mentions multiple times how she is bothered by Will's competitiveness because she is a single mother of two and she can't lose her job and the flexibility it brings, but her disliking him is later on framed mainly as her being competitive as well and her being worried about her position thanks to him snatching up chances is dropped. Will has his own good reasons for wanting those, dont get me wrong! But this is never spoken about, in conversations, Annas dislike of Will is reduced to him being competitive and annoying. I think this is what bothered me the most about the book. As soon as this was forgotten, the book (regrettably) became a lot more fun.
You can really feel the tension between Anna and Will and even with "fade to black" sex scenes, the book is sexy. Their flirting in well-written and they have chemistry. The characters – aside from Anna, sadly – are given a lot of respect and fleshed out like crazy, too. It's honestly great.
Not the worst but two more things that bothered me:
- the author managed to write autistic weirdos multiple times (sometimes in a good, sometimes in a bad light, although the way the first one was written is a bit too close for comfort to an actual ableist depiction of autistic people for me)
- the author is... out of touch... but tries to be in touch... the mid-20 year olds are not bonding over Roblox and the kids are not calling each other default, usually
Tldr: There's some glaring issues but I still had a lot of fun reading this book thanks to how well-written the rest of the book is.
ganz süß & voller Quellenangaben & hatte schöne Zwischentexte und Aussagen. Dafür sind die Formulierungen manchmal verwirrend und das Buch, an sich, ist jetzt nicht das besonderste... insb. weil es veraltet ist (und das ziemlich schnell). TBF ist es genau deswegen aber auch interessant, ist mal ein kleiner Anblick ins Deutschland von 2015. Wäre es nicht in meinem Buch-Abo, hätt ich's nicht gelesen/gekauft.
I finished this in basically one sitting from 8pm to 3am and am on the verge of sleep while typing this. my verdict: so fun, so great, so hopeful, very consistent and logical, loved it. gut feeling says 4 stars because some passages kinda annoyed me and this book didnt change my life or anything but I often round those up to 5 stars for books anyways because "changed my life" is an egregiously high standard to have
Contains spoilers
So cool and great. I think a lot of us rationally know that progressives have existed in any human era but actually reading a book from 1955 that's eerily relevant to 2026 is something else. Us humans in 2026 havent lived through some kind of nuclear disaster, yet we face very many of the same (almost exact) struggles as the people in this book: The USA, too, currently struggles with a surge in evangelical pastors and supposed believers spreading the gospel that demonize anybody who is different. The strength of the USA means that this thinking gets imported everywhere else, too. Rural communities have and still suffer from many a plight that may drive them towards conservatism, too. And those are just some examples.
This book reads like it was written by a person that is very empathetic and can thoroughly take on other people's points of view. There is an obvious moral and opinion presented in this book, yes, but differing opinions or characters aren't just explained away as stupid; they're fleshed out and have internally consistent or simply realistic viewpoints. It's great to read many subtle critiques out of this text, too.
The ending was a bit sudden and underwhelming. Didn't ruin the fun of reading the book for me though. All in all, it certainly isnt the BEST book ever written, but it's one of the books I will recommend to EVERYBODY.
Contains spoilers
Initially I wanted to give the book a 4.5 but after pondering on it I rounded it up to a 5. Not a lot to say except: What a great ending to the series. Made me cry at some points. Oh Caris, the woman you are. A lighthearted remark tho: How come only the straight and lesbian couples are doomed? :D Terilyn and Eimarille's deaths also felt a bit sudden, but then again, I dont know how else they wouldve met their ends. And thank you, Lisandro, for providing a lore reason why Caris stayed committed to her dead boyfriend.
This book is the first and slowest of the trilogy. Which doesnt mean its bad, its more a testament to how unbelievably good the series gets. I cant say a lot of positive things, not for lack of them, but because Im so floored and my brain is so full of lore of this continent and its characters.
There is one gripe Ive had throughout the book: By borrowing from real cultures – namely Ottoman for Solaria – the author builds a world which bears resemblance to ours while not necessarily intending to do so. I am not assuming ANY Badwill at all, and this is a systematic, not individual thing, but seeing the "oriental" empire be represented as scheming, politicking, open to sex and pleasure and so forth evokes orientalist imagery. Its not overtly racist or anything, just made me think.
DNF at 50%.
The author's prose is mostly easy to read which is always a big plus. Apart from that though?
Aside from me totally not being the target audience - neither does he fully present his interviews, nor does he fully dive into facts, nor !! does he dramatize accounts - the way he talks about people with mental illnesses, other conditions and also queer people didnt rub me the right way. Even considering his age, a man as published and travelled as him shouldnt be calling transgender people "transsexuals" and "transvestites", shouldnt be saying all psychopaths do this and that, and shouldnt be classifying some things as illnesses and others not on his own accord.
Tldr; MEH!
Dieses Buch wird oft "hochaktuell" genannt. Nachdem ich es gelesen habe, irritiert mich das zutiefst. Wie kann ein Essayist, dessen Werke vor deutscher Ignoranz und grobem orientalistischen Rassismus nur so tropfen, hochaktuell genannt werden? Wohl ein Zeugnis dessen, dass diese Ignoranz seit den 70ern längst nicht verschwunden ist.
Er sagt ja teils Sachen, die Sinn ergeben. Und seine persönliche Erfahrung kann ich ihm keinesfalls absprechen. Er basiert viele seiner Argumente aber auf Sachen, die entweder damals schon blatant falsch oder misrepräsentiert waren, oder es rückblickend sind. Leon Treppers Weg zu Israel wird komplett falsch und kontextlos stehengelassen, Palästinenser werden kaum erwähnt und durchwegs als "Araber" verallgemeinert, Theoretiker mit von seinen abweichenden Meinungen werden als "vor Selbsthass verstümmelt" dargestellt u.s.w. Es ist meiner Meinung nach fast schon eine Schande für die Humanität deutscher Intellektueller, dass solch zwischen den Zeilen von Hass erfüllten Essays als große, "hochaktuelle" Werke neu veröffentlicht und gefeiert werden.
Mein eigener Hintergrund sollte hier keine große Rolle spielen, dennoch möchte ich hier noch einmal explizit erwähnen: Ich bin keineswegs Israelhasser. Wie bereits erwähnt kann ich Teile von Amérys Meinung teilen. Bei weitem jedoch nicht alle, denn aus Sicht einer Person, deren Forschungsschwerpunkt in dieser Region liegt, erscheint er mir bestenfalls als uninformiert und emotionalisiert, schlimmstenfalls als Rassist und Hasser arabischer* Personengruppen.
Short ver: It's a super fun read
Long ver: As a whole, I enjoyed reading the book. The style is easy to read and I like the idea of this unconventional relationship. Sadly, there's a lot of little things that annoyed me. In no particular order:
- the characters would break out into monologues regarding their moral stances - felt very performative, was often unnecessary and took me out of the flow/immersion
- the book is dripping with tumblr- and millenialism. That's not a crime or objective flaw, I just... really... didnt like it here. Why are we singing Hamilton to a child?
- it's so oddly heteronormative. Like if the book's dripping in tumblrism, it's soaking in heteronormativity. That's nothing new regarding cishet romances but I mention it here because it really annoyed me, considering how the author advertises herself as a lover of unconventional relationships and how the characters break out into moral rambles and how the MCs best friend in a queer black man
- don't take this too literally, but the best way to describe the main character is as a tumblr Mary Sue. As much as I hate popular use of that word, it gets pretty close here.
- unnecessary miscommunication
The smut is okay. The characters are pretty lovable up until a certain point, afterwards only Cyrus stays lovable. It's an okay book.
I think it's beautiful that the author got a chance to expand upon her once published essay in the form of this short book. It has a lot of nice quotes! Sadly, as others have said, it becomes very repetitive at a certain point. Don't let that stop you from reading it though, it's a short read and gives you nice pointers on where to read up on this topic next if you're interested.
Contains spoilers
1. If you're gonna add trigger warnings, try to tag not just the kinks but also the literal abuse in the book
2. I know Im an idiot for being invested in the plot of erotica, but why even try to make a big cool plot and then leave 20 plotholes or straight up ignore it at the end?
3. Shoutout to the virtue signaling of mentioning trans and genderqueer people once in the entire book for a corny diversity comment near the end and apart from that having not a single character that isnt a cis man/woman (for clarification, I hated it because its corny, not morally bad or anything. just include actually diverse characters instead of doing this)
4. Grammar mistakes. :-[ To be expected in smaller books but when I already dislike the book they pop out even more I guess
5. Not the worst, but bumps this book down to one star for me: I didnt enjoy the smut at all
I am incredibly split on this book.
The short review: I share Sim's overall opinions, I detest how they conveyed them. If you read this book, keep in mind that the author is an anarchist that fully supports armed resistance (something that isnt disclosed until more than halfway into the book) and is very anti-west, anti-capitalist.
The positives: I have to commend Sim Kern for even writing this book – most works I know of on the topic of Palestine are incredibly academic. This book wants to introduce people to pro-Palestinian activism with humor and personal anecdotes and stories, a great tool to make people interested in what you're teaching. It doesnt just try to introduce you to the topic, it cites and talks about many other books, authors, journalists etc, so further research is very accessible. I can tell a lot of love went into this book.
The negatives: This book is, in my opinion, very irresponsible. The author doesnt disclose their political camp (anarchism) until the very end. This wouldve been important to keep in mind throughout the book as Sim Kern commonly uses concepts, theories and phrases associated with anarchist and marxist theories and writings. The use of these in of themselves isnt an issue; it is an issue if this rhetoric comes before explanations and definitions. As much as I agree that Israel (the state) is evil, this book suffers severely from not giving its reader the chance to form their own opinion at all. As a fellow educator, I wouldve kinda expected better from Sim Kern.
The book also commonly lacks context. Reading that non-muslims were "dhimmis", a PROTECTED CLASS, in muslim empires, was crazy. Im no expert on early caliphates but a simple internet search shows that non-muslims commonly lived in effectively ghettos. As for newer muslim empires, which I am actually knowledgable on; dhimmis were still second class citizens whose entire lifelihood was dependent on the goodwill of or usefulness for the current ruler. Sim presents the existence of dhimmis as positive. And this happens... fairly often. Which is a shame.
Aside those two things, the two lowest points in the book for me were:
- writing what is effectively fanfiction over Yahya Sinwar, a man who was probably the mastermind behind the oct 7 attacks and had ties to Iran
- being unable to actually call the terror attacks on oct 7 bad and saying that the killing of civilians was something singular hamas fighters did that wasnt planned at all
Short review: This book could've been better if it wasnt young adult.
Long story: I really wanted to like this book the longer I read it. The more I read the book itself and about the author I realized that this is also a deeply personal story about grief, falsely packaged as a young adult romance novel. YA implies its marketed towards teens too, but the author retains a writing style that is very reminiscent of dark romance and erotica (which she is an author of too). Not saying teens cant read this, but this book models multiple tragedies, some on accident: A codependent relationship, characters that dont exist outside of their romance, heavy miscommunication and the death of a character. The characters never act their age either. While the plot of this book explains that later on, I found myself very irritated and pulled out of my immersion by how inaccurately child characters were written. And while Im talking about immersion - the writing style is very flat, simple and wattpad. The author actually says that tongues duel at some point. Wattpad writing in combination with supposedly deep talks about life and death (that repeat themselves over and over again) just clash, and exactly that is why this book shouldntve been YA in my opinion. This couldve been a great emotional venture into grief and dealing with it. Instead its one book of a girl dying and leaving behind a boyfriend amongst many.
Ein tolles und aufschlussreiches Buch, welches viele Aussagen belegt und auf viele weitere Meinungen Bezug nimmt. Persönlich auch höchst inspirierend. Das Buch hat meine volle Empfehlung für alle, die sich irgendwie mit dem Islam, seiner Geschichte und seiner gelebten Form auseinandersetzen möchte, ob Gläubig oder nicht.
rounding it up to a five, because I went into this book expecting nothing and finished it with a nice fuzzy feeling. I cried a few times while reading it, the book is imo greatly written, its well edited, its realistic enough that I could deeply relate to the main character despite him being super annoying in the beginning and I found new hope for myself. Even things I wondered about in the beginning were explained as the book went on and when relevant. The conversations felt ALIVE. Only small con I see here is the obviously milennial tumblr language but I forgive you, book, because you were great
Oh how I wished for this novella to be better than it is. The prince, the main character of the story, acts like a 14year old on anime TikTok; constantly stumbling over his words, blushing and hanging his head at everything. Which is a shame! The dysphoria scenes were very greatly written, and the smut was pretty okay too. That does make it worse to me that theres a sizeable age gap between the main character and his lovers. Also, the writing itself just wasnt all that good. Theres commas where they shouldnt be, commas are missing where they should be, sentences trail off and it gets worse as the book goes on. The typesetter for this book should also be taught a lesson (literally) because sometimes the first sentence of a paragraph will be centred for no reason...? Honestly, this book would be an easy 4 stars if the author had a good editor and didnt rely on his Wattpad expertise
PS: I see many people saying this book has a diverse cast of characters which is a little bonkers to me - three cis men, one trans man, all of them white. One other man mentioned, one other woman mentioned. Is that really diverse?
There were like, two parts of the book that really lost me. Apart from that I really enjoyed the author's style of writing and I appreciate reading a book by somebody I share views but not a history with, seeing his views align with mine while his emotional reactions differ because of our own histories. A great book, but also a very challenging read.
This book is ... kinda terrible? The sex scenes are pretty well written, and there's some interesting plot elements in the second half of the book ... but apart from that? Im no puritan but I feel like dark themes should be given SOME level of respect and/or realism. Meanwhile there are multiple instances of rape in this book that are seemingly written in for shock value and then irrelevant for the rest of the book. The plot also loses itself. And, maybe thats just me, but something inside of me is very much against the notion of putting BDSM as a TRIGGER WARNING next to INCEST and RAPE. Sorry, I dont think bisexual threesomes are as morally grey or bad as whatever else happens in this book, but it really feels like they're being put on the same level when the book is about breaking moral taboos and then makes two women make out with each other for a man