Against the Loveless World: A Novel

I don't gush. Usually. But. Five stars are not enough. How about 10, 50, 100? In other words: masterpiece. Against the Loveless World is that rarest of treasures, a bona fide masterpiece. The kind that comes along ever so seldom. The kind of novel that you don't merely read, but are privileged to enter and live inside for a few precious hours, and the kind of novel that you then can't stop thinking about, for many more hours, for days, for weeks. For the rest of your life. I've read only a handful of such novels in my life. Beloved by Toni Morrison. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Just Above My Head by James Baldwin. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill. The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter by Kia Corthron. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolff. Affinity by Sarah Waters. Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks. Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis. And now this. Now Against the Loveless World. What do these novels, my own personal pantheon of literary masterworks, have in common? Each one is about something, about something that matters. By which I mean it's not what I think of as a kitchen-table novel, one with a narrow focus on the domestic details of a life or two, in particular a white bourgeois or petit-bourgeois life or two. All too many, most, fictions foisted on us by the literary establishment inside the U.S. restrict themselves to such a focus. Constrict our reading to such a narrow perspective. They reflect and uphold the status quo. Well of course they do, because the perspective of the capitalist ruling class is the only one through which we're supposed to view the world. The great novels that break out of these bounds, the novels that draw the reader in to a story that resists, defies, rejects the racist gaze, the imperialist gaze, the colonialist gaze, the cis heterosexist male gaze--a story that exists beyond the bounds of bourgeois literary respectability—these are the novels that matter. Against the Loveless World matters. It matters because of its key portrayals, three of them as I see it. The first two are characters: the protagonist Nahr, and the six or so most important secondary characters. The third: Palestine. The characterizations are complex, deeply drawn. Nahr above all, a Palestinian woman whose life unfolds in unexpected directions. Imperialism, invasion, occupation, colonialism, racism, sexism, class are the context of her life. Abulhawa shows this skillfully, artfully, as Nahr guides us through her story. But context is not everything, and the portrayal of Nahr herself, her individuality, character, personality—her quirks and flaws and mistakes as much as her beauty intelligence fierceness devotion loyalty tenderheartedness courage—is exquisite, making her one of the most memorable main characters I’ve ever encountered. Making me love her, feel with her, ache for her, laugh and love with her. With the character of Nahr the reader is afforded the privilege of inhabiting the consciousness of one of the most multilayered, complex, thinking, feeling, fully fleshed protagonists I've ever encountered For lack of time I’m not going to write about the secondary characters but take my word for it: they are deep and they are real and they are every bit as remarkable creations as the central character Nahr. It is a crime both literary and political that it’s noteworthy when a novel published in this country draws the reader in to identify with, care about, Palestinians. How awful, how absurd, how criminal that simply showing the humanity of Palestinians should be noteworthy! But such is the literary and political landscape in this country. Because U.S. imperialism is so invested in the Zionist colonialist settler state, the bourgeois literary establishment does its bidding by locking out Palestinian voices. So when a work featuring such voices manages to break through, it’s cause for celebration and should be made known far and wide. This is such a work. Read it and you will understand the Palestinian experience a little better. Central to that experience, the third key portrayal I mentioned, is Palestine itself. In a way Palestine is itself a character in this story. Palestine the nation. Palestine the land. Palestine the food. Palestine the music. Palestine the language. Palestine the dance, the dress, the traditions. Palestine the flowers, the hills, the sky, the wind. Palestine the goats and sheep. Palestine the figs, the almonds. Palestine the olive trees. Palestine the lush, the beloved. Palestine the stolen. The invaded. The occupied. The exiled. The tortured, the assassinated, the imprisoned. Palestine the never defeated. Palestine the people who fight, who fight, who fight, who fight on in whatever way they can. All this Abulhawa depicts with the utmost skill, with stunningly gorgeous writing, with a page-turning plot, with un-put-down-able momentum that engages the reader intellectually, emotionally and politically. For those who know little of Palestinian stories, it will be an eye opener. For those of us who already know which side we’re on, it is a gift. In my opinion, all great art is born of suffering. Great art engages with love and loss and pain, with struggle and solidarity. Against the Loveless World is great art. This is a beautiful, wrenching, soaring, searing novel. It will move you to tears. Let it also move you to action. Long live Palestine! Thank you Susan Abulhawa.

A scrappy teen girl rebels, suffers, dances, works, loves, curdles, feels and thinks her way through life with several complex women, family and friends... and the men. A Palestinian refugee in Kuwait she wends her way through poverty, invasions, removal, male vendettas, immigration, Israeli occupation, intifadas. A blossoming and wounded love. Sixteen years in solitary. Through deep personal narrative, we learn of history and hearts we never knew but always hoped for. A many-layered tale. A pearl. If only there were ten stars for books like this.

This book was difficult to read as it descibes the horrendous treatment of the Palestinians under Israeli governance. However it is beautifully written and something we should know about. We recently talked to a Palestinian refugee in Canada. He told us some stories from his family's experience which mirrored what Susan described. I will not forget Against the Loveless World.

Great read and very educational. Brings awareness to what Palestine has been through for many many years & is still going through.

Every American should read this book. I'd never paid much attention to the events happening in Israel until the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israelis. I remember the term "the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" which sounds like they just can't get along. However, after that attack, I read that Netanyahu had been warned about the high probability of an attack by Hamas, and he did nothing. The military even had a 40-page battle plan translated to Hebrew, code-named “Jericho Wall,” that detailed a hypothetical Hamas attack. I feel devastated by Israel's bombing of schools, hospitals, homes, etc. and the murders of thousands of people in Gaza, including children. As I read this book, I learned that Israel's goal since 1948 has been to rid every Palestinian from Israel. I learned about the prejudice that Palestinians face throughout the Middle east and many other parts of the world. It's ridiculous that people who speak out against Israelis because of their unrelenting genocide of Palestinians are called antisemitic and are punished for their important activism. I'm sickened with the knowledge that my country has given Israel over $300 billion dollars in aid since 1948. The US has given more aid to Israel than to any other country in the world. Against the Loveless World is the most traumatizing novel I've ever read. Everyone in the world should read it.

Very well written and gripping story written in the background of political and military oppression. It would take a lot of life experience to write this book.

This is one of the best novels I have ever read. I recommend it to all lovers of great literature.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Against the Loveless World is a powerful, uncompromising novel that refuses to romanticize either love or revolution. Nahr’s voice is sharp, raw, and deeply human. Through her memories, the book explores displacement, political resistance, womanhood, and the quiet violences of survival. The writing is deliberate and unflinching, often heavy, but intentionally . At times, the pacing slows under the weight of introspection and political context, and I occasionally wished for a bit more narrative momentum. Still, the emotional payoff is undeniable. This is a story about choosing oneself in a world that offers very few choices, especially to women whose lives exist at the intersection of exile, ideology, and desire. This isn’t an easy read, nor is it meant to be. A strong four stars for its honesty, complexity, and refusal to soften its truths.

Very good

Heb het boek in 1 adem uitgelezen en heb het tussendoor nauwelijks willen wegleggen.

Tres beau livre, bon état, je recommande

It's a very hard book. Real, too real. I loved it but it did take me longer to read than her other books because its harsher. I still recommend it tho.

A powerful, truthful, resonant account of Palestinian life & oppression. The protagonist & writer truly have a warrior’s heart as stated by the testimony on the cover by Alice Walker.