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heresthepencil's reviews
975 reviews
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé
dark
informative
5.0
any sane person with a conscience knows about the nakba by now. but it's one thing to know that in 1948 the israeli forces expelled over 750,000 palestinians from their ancestral homes, and it's another altogether to read in detail just how they went about it, from village to village, executing, expelling, sexually abusing, humiliating.
where i'm from, we learn a lot about the nazi atrocious crimes against jewish, slavic & romani people. we read memoirs, poetry, historical accounts. i remember reading gruesome stories at a way too early an age, that stayed with me till this day. so to say it's absolutely sickening to now read about jews committing a lot of the same barbaric crimes just mere years after the holocaust, is an understatement of my life.
this book is based in a huge part on idf's reports, israeli court cases against its soldiers, diaries of ben-gurion - don't you dare come here and tell me those are all lies.
from the river to the sea!
where i'm from, we learn a lot about the nazi atrocious crimes against jewish, slavic & romani people. we read memoirs, poetry, historical accounts. i remember reading gruesome stories at a way too early an age, that stayed with me till this day. so to say it's absolutely sickening to now read about jews committing a lot of the same barbaric crimes just mere years after the holocaust, is an understatement of my life.
this book is based in a huge part on idf's reports, israeli court cases against its soldiers, diaries of ben-gurion - don't you dare come here and tell me those are all lies.
from the river to the sea!
Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics by Marc Lamont Hill, Mitchell Plitnick
informative
3.5
gives a much needed context for the us’ role in the current situation in occupied palestine. definitely requires the reader to have at least a base-level knowledge of the events after the nakba, though, so i wouldn’t say it’s a good starting point for someone to start educating themselves. but more than a history book, it’s one about how american politics allowed (and has been allowing) the tragedy in palestine to unfold. i see people in their reviews saying it’s biased, because it does put the blame where it belongs and names as victims those who deserve that name. but i’m not sure how you can call a book where basically every fact pointed out has a footnote, a subjective one. (well i do know, it’s easy when you’re a zionist and said facts are uncomfortable for you.)
language-wise, it’s very much an academic book, not the easiest to parse though for someone not used to that. but it’s also pretty repetitive.
language-wise, it’s very much an academic book, not the easiest to parse though for someone not used to that. but it’s also pretty repetitive.
Against Erasure: A Photographic Memory of Palestine Before the Nakba by Sandra Barrilaro, Teresa Aranguren
challenging
emotional
inspiring
5.0
if this collection of essays & photographs doesn’t radicalise you, i don’t know what possibly might. seeing the silly smiles of palestinians captured on film at the beginning of the 20th century? unparalleled.
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rep: gay mc, gay li, Vietnamese American bi side character, sapphic side character
Thrown in the Throat by Benjamin Garcia
2.0
a few good lines but generally i haven't been his bored by poetry in ages
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky
informative
3.0
not a book for someone who doesn't have at least a basic knowledge on the history of the israeli settler colonial occupation in palestine. rather it's a discussion on the how's and why's the western world has allowed (and is still allowing) this to happen, the tactics the state of israel uses to achieve its genocidal goals. the second half focuses more on the current (at the time of it being published) events, looks for possible solutions.
the last two chapters (both by noam chomsky) are very similar pieces, one not really offering any more insight than the other, i'm not sure why they were both included.
the last two chapters (both by noam chomsky) are very similar pieces, one not really offering any more insight than the other, i'm not sure why they were both included.
Delay of Game by Ari Baran
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rep: Jewish bi mc with anxiety, bi mc, side achillean characters, side Black character
tw: drug & alcohol use, body dysmorphia
listen! this is what i mean when i say that the miscommunication trope is actually a great literary device, you just have to be a skilled writer to use it!
full rtc
tw: drug & alcohol use, body dysmorphia
listen! this is what i mean when i say that the miscommunication trope is actually a great literary device, you just have to be a skilled writer to use it!
full rtc
Mrs S by K. Patrick
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rep: butch lesbian mc & side character, sapphic li
tw: drug use, underage drinking, internalised homophobia
sublime! the writing is gorgeous, makes the atmosphere almost palpable; somehow it's simultaneously claustrophobic & freeing. you know how it's gonna end, it can only end one way, but you're still on the edge of your seat - and nothing even really happens.
makes me think of the awakening by kate chopin, with the way the women reach for the things that make them burn inside. (and, for obvious reasons, of olivia by dorothy strachey, but an adult, more brazen version.)
all the talk about butchness is absolutely delicious, too.
tw: drug use, underage drinking, internalised homophobia
sublime! the writing is gorgeous, makes the atmosphere almost palpable; somehow it's simultaneously claustrophobic & freeing. you know how it's gonna end, it can only end one way, but you're still on the edge of your seat - and nothing even really happens.
makes me think of the awakening by kate chopin, with the way the women reach for the things that make them burn inside. (and, for obvious reasons, of olivia by dorothy strachey, but an adult, more brazen version.)
all the talk about butchness is absolutely delicious, too.
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
rep: gay side characters, Pakistani gay side character, Jewish side character
tw: depression, panic attacks
is this a perfect book? no. did it make me feel something, deeply in my core? absolutely.
the ending feels rather rushed, it definitely could have been longer, but at the same time there are whole paragraphs of painfully obvious metaphors which i'm not sure why made the cut. overall, a bit too on the nose, a tiny bit pretentious. it's a book about the characters first & foremost, though, and those are exquisite. it's not even that they change throughout the story, just let you see different sides of themselves as time goes by?
and the way the narrator drops little truth-bombs here & there and you start to see everything unravel around her? delicious.
tw: depression, panic attacks
is this a perfect book? no. did it make me feel something, deeply in my core? absolutely.
the ending feels rather rushed, it definitely could have been longer, but at the same time there are whole paragraphs of painfully obvious metaphors which i'm not sure why made the cut. overall, a bit too on the nose, a tiny bit pretentious. it's a book about the characters first & foremost, though, and those are exquisite. it's not even that they change throughout the story, just let you see different sides of themselves as time goes by?
and the way the narrator drops little truth-bombs here & there and you start to see everything unravel around her? delicious.