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451 reviews by:
reads2cope
“When I was learning to be a man, I wish that instead of the coaching I received to take up space, I had been taught to be respectful of space. To be ever conscious of and ever grateful to those whose sacred land I inhabit. To be mindful of the space and bodies of others, especially feminine bodies. To never presume that I am permitted to touch the body of another, no matter how queer the space. To give up or create space when I am afforded more than others.”
"The Gaza Strip remained under blockade. It is a little-known fact that Gaza was once a happy place with a happy people who had a great sense of humor and led lives like other seafaring people. But this was many decades ago. Even prior to the 2014 war, Gaza had a high incidence of suicide and a substantial number of people living on drugs.
It is unprecedented that a whole society be placed under siege for so long, an open-ended siege with no end in sight. After the 2014 war people were heard saying, “Life in Gaza has always been consumed by war. I never knew it to be otherwise.” The new generation had forgotten that there was once a different life in the Strip.”
A very quick read on how the current situation in Palestine has been allowed to continue and supported by the USA, France, and England. The contrast to South African apartheid was interesting, and I wish those comparisons could have been delved into longer. The hypocrisy of Israel claiming to have a just and moral standing while bombing indiscriminately and faking warning calls were clearly supported. Equally shown was the hypocrisy of other countries, like the USA, who have signed international agreements and have local laws that should have restricted monetary and military support to Israel but have been ignored.
I was disappointed that Shehadeh describes the October 7 attacks using the since-debunked numbers of Hamas killing “some 1,200 soldiers and civilians.” Of course, the attacks were horrific. But there is a serious distinction between a resistance group killing occupying soldiers and killing civilians, and serious questions raised about how many civilians were actually bombed and shot by the Israeli military and how many were in fact killed by Hamas. This concession to Israeli framing continues as Shehadeh calls the genocide the “Gaza war” and uses other inaccurate, softer terms despite evidence to the contrary.
He does explore the wild gap between Israeli and Gazan life well: “Except for the occasional rocket fired from Gaza, to which Israel retaliated by making Gazans pay a heavy price, Palestinians in Gaza seemed safely imprisoned behind the barrier built with great sophistication and at great expense. Young Israelis felt secure enough that they planned a rave right on the border with Gaza.”
"I gazed at my red couch longingly, more tempted to sit than I'd been in the longest time. The cushions gleamed bright red as cherries, as my former lipstick. Before every lipstick clashed with my grief.
Go on. Sit on me, Miranda.
But what if I can’t get back up? I whispered to the couch."
A confusing, hectic fever dream. I feel like I missed some big keys to the story by reading the audiobook, but it was still enjoyable. Repetitive, but in a way that served the breakdown of the main character, just bordering making it difficult to get through but not enough to make me stop reading.
"Paul would nod along solemnly with the doctor and then look over at me, at a loss. Did you see how he just talked to you again? Did you see?! I’d ask in the car after we left.
I saw, Paul said.
Am I invisible? What the fuck was that about?
I don't know, Miranda, okay? he sighed. Calm down.
And then after our split, when I went to the doctor alone, they still wouldn't look at me. They would direct their questions, their diagnoses, to the corners of the room or to the medical table or to the diagram of the skinned body on the wall. As if these objects were somehow more trustworthy, more reasonable."
This was so sweet and I miss the characters already! Only wish there was 100% less military in it (especially as it didn’t impact the plot at all and I would forget about it until it was brought up again)
This was sweet. The romance felt a bit forced at first and the main character was pretty immature, but I appreciate how much she grew throughout the book. Some of it was a bit repetitive, but overall a nice introduction to deaf culture and big summer camp vibes.
“Growing up Fat Black Female and almost blind in America requires so much surviving that you have to learn from it or die. Jenny, rest in peace. I carry tattooed upon my heart a list of names of women who did not survive, and there is always space left for one more, my own. That is to remind me that even survival is only part of the task. The other part is teaching.”
“My father is both dead and alive. I do not have a grammar for him. He is in the past, present and future. Even if I had held his hand, and felt it slacken, as he exhaled his last breath, I would still, I believe, every time I refer to him, pause to search for the right tense. I suspect many men who have buried their fathers feel the same. I am no different. I live, as we all live, in the aftermath.”
A lyrical memoir that buried itself deep in my heart. The way Matar explored not only his family’s loss but also the various exiles and searches of home he experienced was so gripping. He also delved into Libyan history I was only partially aware of, including the genocide Mussolini perpetuated against Libyans. Though it took me a long time to read, it still felt like a sprint. Every chapter was purposeful, and I will be sitting with the impact for a long time.
A lyrical memoir that buried itself deep in my heart. The way Matar explored not only his family’s loss but also the various exiles and searches of home he experienced was so gripping. He also delved into Libyan history I was only partially aware of, including the genocide Mussolini perpetuated against Libyans. Though it took me a long time to read, it still felt like a sprint. Every chapter was purposeful, and I will be sitting with the impact for a long time.
“I know we do not have time, I know how the tides shift, how public opinion and those in power lose interest, I know the need to act immediately and build infrastructure at the same time.”
Stirring poetry and motivating essays.
“at 31 l claim
rage
I want fires
like those that
lit up June 2020
I want screams
that haunt their
nightmares
words that make
them irrelevant
I want justice
this aries moon
then, I want to
replace it all,
build before, during, after”
Stirring poetry and motivating essays.
“at 31 l claim
rage
I want fires
like those that
lit up June 2020
I want screams
that haunt their
nightmares
words that make
them irrelevant
I want justice
this aries moon
then, I want to
replace it all,
build before, during, after”
"They search for things:
where is protest
safe to protest
how to protest
They realize:
Community is how it spreads.
Community is how it is solved.
They will keep going. Emerge from their boxes in boxes in boxes into sunlight. Cycles resuming. They will transmit messages to each other. Some of them will be confused. Some of them will share food. They will make more and more and more. Some of them will die. Some of them will be hungry. Some of them will be alone.
The systems will be the systems. But some of them may change the systems. Rebuild them. Make new patterns." - Systems, by Charles Yu
Like all short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. For the first time in a while, I enjoyed most of them! I almost DNFd Margaret Atwood's piece. Mona Awad, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, Charles Yu, Laila Lalami gave my favorite submissions. And as usual, Rivers Solomon's will haunt me.
Like all short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. For the first time in a while, I enjoyed most of them! I almost DNFd Margaret Atwood's piece. Mona Awad, Tommy Orange, Edwidge Danticat, Charles Yu, Laila Lalami gave my favorite submissions. And as usual, Rivers Solomon's will haunt me.
“Was the cause of my mother’s illness a private secret, something to be found only in her mind and body? Or was the cause an open secret, history itself, which hammered on her repeatedly until it fractured her? Or was the cause both a private secret and an open secret?
Vietnamese people, how do you separate what is unique to you and your own personal trauma from war, colonization, the division and reunification of the country? From becoming a refugee or staying behind or being left behind? From being the child of refugees, soldiers, witnesses, survivors? From being the child of those who did not survive?
Vietnamese people, how do you separate yourself and your memories from history? Your private secrets from open secrets? Your self from your otherness? Your truth from your betrayal?”
This was thought provoking and pairs well with other recent works on craft and colonization, like The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad. I wish I had checked out an eBook rather than the audiobook though. The author was not the best narrator, at least for me, and his stilted reading distracted me from his points and his otherwise very lyrical and impactful writing style.
Vietnamese people, how do you separate what is unique to you and your own personal trauma from war, colonization, the division and reunification of the country? From becoming a refugee or staying behind or being left behind? From being the child of refugees, soldiers, witnesses, survivors? From being the child of those who did not survive?
Vietnamese people, how do you separate yourself and your memories from history? Your private secrets from open secrets? Your self from your otherness? Your truth from your betrayal?”
This was thought provoking and pairs well with other recent works on craft and colonization, like The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad. I wish I had checked out an eBook rather than the audiobook though. The author was not the best narrator, at least for me, and his stilted reading distracted me from his points and his otherwise very lyrical and impactful writing style.