Against the Loveless World

A Novel

By: Susan Abulhawa

Narrated by: Susan Abulhawa

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

2020 Palestine Book Awards Winner
2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist

“Susan Abulhawa possesses the heart of a warrior; she looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can illuminate hidden worlds for us.” (Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author)

In this “beautiful...urgent” novel (The New York Times), Nahr, a young Palestinian woman, fights for a better life for her family as she travels as a refugee throughout the Middle East.

As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the 70s to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she’s forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation. Nahr’s subversive humor and moral ambiguity will resonate with fans of My Sister, The Serial Killer, and her dark, contemporary struggle places her as the perfect sister to Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties.

Written with Susan Abulhawa’s distinctive “richly detailed, beautiful, and resonant” (Publishers Weekly) prose, this powerful novel presents a searing, darkly funny, and wholly unique portrait of a Palestinian woman who refuses to be a victim.

©2020 Susan Abulhawa All rights reserved. Quotes excerpted from The Fire Next Time ©1962, 1963 by James Baldwin. Copyright renewed. Used by arrangement with the James Baldwin Estate. (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. All rights reserved.

Strong yet vulnerable story of resistance

Thank you for this story. It is surreal to hear it and know that miles and oceans always someone is living this nightmare. Courage and strength is born in Palestine. Free Palestine!

Beautiful

One of the most beautiful yet heartbreaking stories I’ve read. This story humanizes Palestinians, whose humanity and struggles are mostly neglected by the mainstream media. I fell in love with the characters and I will never forget this story. I also learned a lot. This was an amazing book. I was sad to have it end.

Love and loss

I admit I cried with some passages. This novel is moving and true, a love story of man and woman refugee and home country. It also belies Israel’s contention of “a land without people for a people without land.”

5 star rating

this was so awesome. I also read the book but the audio was topnotch

Painfully sublime

I love everything Susan Albuhawa has published. Her research into history, current events, lives, and situations are so well woven together to give the reader an adventurous read while communicating some knowledge. And her reading this book was a beautiful gift. The insight she shares with her reader makes for an intimate read, that is both illuminating and enjoyable in equal measure.

Poetic and poignant

I listened to this book in 2 days while bedridden, and loved finishing the year with this beautiful heartbreaking story, beautifully told and so relevant to the current events. I am from the region and know a lot about its history, but it's the fiction books that give me insight into people's feelings and thoughts. I will be reading Susan's other books.

heartbreaking but full of hope

reading this now, during the Palestinian genocide, is truly heartbreaking. although this story is mostly fiction, the stories are taken from real people or could easily be true. the author makes you feel like your experiencing and feeling what's written. the loss and the pain. but also the glimpses of hope and miniscule victories.

A Sublime Storytelling

Exquisitely read by the author this story sheds light on the history of conflict that began to grab headlines in 1948 . One side of an incredibly complicated and painful events .

Unapologetic

I loved everything about this book. Highly recommend it, especially now when Palestine is at its breaking point and the world seems to be ignoring it. Insightful into what it’s like being a refugee

captivating

immersive experience.the charm of the words. u feel and see and live the characters. the description of her experience in Kuwait is jaw dropping and extremely genuine and human. her combination for the Palestinian suffering and their aspirations as group and the very personal accounts of each member in this society make this story as a foundation for the collective vision.
it ignited the imagination.. and this is the role of literature