Against the Loveless World - Susan Abulhawa

Against the Loveless World, its content staying true to its title, follows the journey of a displaced Palestinian woman as she tries to find her home, but only to come to the realization that because of her constant displacement, there will always be parts of her missing - “to remain in one place meant tearing one’s limbs from another.”

A story of fiction with events that are fact, Susan Abulhawa creates such a literature piece that I believe it holds more power to portray a way of life than non-fiction, and brings light to the harsh reality of living alongside monsters. The use of the fictitious characters creates a personal connection with the reader, almost demanding they sympathize with each personality. The fact that the author is a Palestinian woman, adds to this connection as she is more aware of a Palestinian lifestyle than anyone else. The stages in Nahr’s life, portrayed by the different parts of the book, will bring a different heartbreak each time. It will end with you being in despair of what she had to go through, but still came out focusing on the small wonders of life. The powerfulness of the female lead brings about a sense of pride, for even when life knocked her down too many times to count, she pushed back just as hard; the author created a wonderful character, and clearly represented her personality throughout - “most of these women had ordinary lives, but life pulled the extraordinary out of them.”

Abulhawa mentioned that while the methodology of Nahr’s imprisonment was true, the Cube was a personal creation of hers. The Israeli government ensured that she was given more media coverage than any other prisoner. What baffled me was that the journalists cared more for whether she showered or read books, all that was taken away once they left, but did not see the outrageousness of keeping a woman confined in such a small place, with never having seen the outside world in years! It just goes on to show that people will only see what they want to.

The most devastating factor was that some of the characters mentioned a time where they will be free, hopeful that it will be in the near future, but they still remain occupied to this day. However, some characters have given up, and accepted their fate, that they refuse to bring others into this world - “I worry enough about my brothers, grown men, in this shitty situation. I don’t think I could survive worrying about my children having to deal with soldiers and settlers everywhere they turn.”

However, within these words of heartbreak, the author ensures to add that little hope that is always there, even if it is buried beneath. This form of writing is wonderful, and the author achieves it amazingly.

The use of the past and present perspectives created more suspense for the reader and made it difficult to put the book down, as some events were mentioned in the present time before explained in the past periods. This way of writing is a particular favourite of mine, and very few authors can display it well; it was done exceptionally well in this novel.

A story of joy, heartbreak, love, peace, and resistance; if there is ever a piece of Palestinian literature that you read, it should be this one.