theliteraryteapot's reviews
290 reviews

Read for my arab literature in translation class. I read an English translation but I think you can still feel the quality of her writing.

Anbara Salam Khalidi seems to be unfairly unknown (at least in Western countries). This is her memoir in which she wrote about the end of the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalism, the French colonisation of Lebanon, and Palestine. This book can act as a testimony of history. She actively took part in the feminist movement in Lebanon and she depicts in her book the early years of Arab feminism.

I appreciated most of the stories and particularly Renée Vivien's gorgeous prose. Keeping in mind her native language was English whilst she wrote in French.

Worst book I've ever read. A female protagonist being written by a man, I wasn't expecting much anyway. There were a whole lot of triggers too so my reading was awful and anxious really.

- From the second page, the female protagonist is sexualised by the writer when she looks at herself in the mirror (men thinking women see their body as a sexual object all the time like they do).

- Few pages later, an incest scene between two minor sisters, written by a grown man.

- A scene in which it is written that three women are raped, then the female protagonist is thinking she wants this too. No matter how the writer and other readers try to justify it, that is completely fucked up to write such things. There is no excuse, you have no idea how disgusting writing this is, how hurtful to women and victims it is. You cannot excuse it by saying 'i'm trying to depict a reality!' You clearly do not know the trauma so many have to deal with every single day. The author may really just be a sick and twisted sexually frustrated mf.

- Honestly, the entirety of this book felt as if the story was basically about a sexually frustrated woman. Damn we get it. Was the purpose to shock the reader? Did every scene really bring something to the table? Or was the writer really just horny?

- The characters were all annoying and men were all misogynistic, predators, manipulative and controlling.

I read this for uni, hated it, it triggered me a lot. I can't wait to get rid of this book (can't believe I had to spend 14€ on that).

"Nul poète ne fut heureux."

A story about a woman endlessly and painfully loving another woman who, not only cannot love her back, but is also quite manipulative and toxic. Although sometimes repetitive, Renée Vivien's writing is beautifully poetic.