Against the Loveless World

After reading The Blue Between Sky and Water, I started this book fully expecting to have my heart utterly obliterated and that's maybe why I wasn't as crushed by this one. Nahr was everything and she could have easily been turned in a caricature but the way Abulhawa dealt with her was nothing short of masterful (she really doesn't miss). While there is heartbreak a plenty in there there's also sweetness and hope.

4.5 stars!

Fun fact: I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I checked it out from the library. I was placing a hold on Loveless by Alice Oseman, and this one popped up in the search results. The cover was absolutely stunning and caught my attention immediately. I clicked over to Goodreads to read a summary but stopped myself when I remembered one of my challenges for 2022 is to read a book I know nothing about.

So I checked it out and proceeded to be positively floored. It was masterfully written, heartbreaking, beautiful, engaging, and honestly one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I could not have lucked out more with my random mystery book!

Susan Abulhawa, you are a prism to the light of language and storytelling. ‘Against the Loveless World' is electric, comforting, righteous, and somber. The writing is fantastic is what I'm trying to say. As someone who grew up outside of Arab culture, and really everyone except for white American and Black culture, I am so filled with a comfort and familiarity in the way that Abulhawa so thoughtfully and deliberately writes about it here. Reading 384 pages of a first accounting of Palestinian culture, history, and strife is rapidly mind-growing. It's helped me gain such a deeper understanding of the struggle of living under occupation in an unjust world. The way Nahr (the main character) explores the stories of the women she's been in her life and ends up being an amalgamation of all of them is so beautifully portrayed. The emotion of millions of people live within these pages and each one has a way of affecting us. I love this book with all my heart. I think of the Palestinian people every day and I pray that we see an end to the occupation and a Free Palestine in my lifetime.

Ketika Nahr ditempatkan di sel tahanan tersendiri, dia menghabiskan waktunya dengan mengingat-ingat kejadian dramatis yang membuatnya berakhir di penjara sebuah negara yang hampir tidak pernah dikenalnya, Palestina. Lahir di tahun 70-an di Kuwait dari pasangan pengungsi dari Palestina, dia bermimpi akan bertemu dengan laki-laki sempurna, punya anak, bahkan membuka salon kecantikan sendiri.
Yang terjadi malah sebaliknya, Nahr ditinggalkan oleh suaminya, keluarganya diambang kemiskinan, dia terpaksa melacur, lalu invasi Irak atas Kuwait membuatnya menjadi pengungsi, seperti orang tuanya, menuju Yordania. Pada akhirnya dia menginjakkan kaki di Palestina, ketika akhirnya Nahr ditakdirkan untuk menemukan rumah dan jatuh cinta, di bawah penjajahan israel.
Buku kedua Susan yang aku baca dengan tokoh utama masih seorang diaspora yang akhirnya kembali ke Palestina setelah terusir dua kali, saat nakba 1948 dan Perang enam Hari 1967. Latar belakangnya kutemukan mirip dengan Salt Houses dan aku lebih menikmati cara bercerita Susan Abulhawa, dibanding Hala Alyan.
Disini Susan menceritakan Nahr kembali ke Palestina di bagian tepi barat, dimana ekspansi pemukiman yahudi berkembang pesat. Di buku sebelumnya, The Blue Between Sky And Water, diceritakan tokohnya kembali ke Palestina di bagian Gaza. Untuk kalian yang penasaran bagaimana kehidupan rakyat Palestina dibawah pendudukan militer (Tepi Barat) dan dibawah blokade militer (Gaza), aku sangat merekomendasikan buku-buku Susan Abulhawa.