Reviews tagging 'Violence'

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh

7 reviews

laurareads87's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I is an account of the lives of two men: Aziz Shehadeh, a lawyer who fought for a Palestinian state and the right of Palestinians forced from their homes to return, and his son Raja Shehadeh, the author, also a lawyer, who in this text grapples with his relationship with his father and his influence on the author's own trajectory as a lawyer and activist. Raja considers the distinctions both men have, at different times, made between legal work, political work, and human rights work, and the similarities between some of their experiences that they never got the chance to discuss. Aziz was murdered in 1985, and at the time of publication the author still had not successfully obtained the release of the documents pertaining to the police investigation that was shut down before it was finished.

Content warnings: war, colonization, forced displacement, deportation, murder, forced institutionalization, violence, grief 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Deportation

biobeetle's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Murder

mari1532's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

I listened to this book through my library with Libby. 

Brief Summary: Shehadeh examines his difficult relationship with his father within the context of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Shehadeh discusses his journey to understanding his father's motives throughout his life and how experiences of his own have made him realize how Shehadeh often misjudged his father.

Thoughts: This was a beautifully written memoir. Shehadeh's vulnerability in discussing his relationship with his father both during his father's lifetime and after his death was beautiful to read. This book highlights not only the difficulties that children and parents can have when they disagree on how to approach important issues, but how children grapple with understanding their parents were once just individuals making their way in the world.  

The way that Shehadeh examined his father through his papers and hard-won accomplishments for the Palestinian cause not only highlighted important first-person accounts of colonization but also how the next generation does not always appreciate the approach of the previous generation in the struggle for freedom. For example, when Shehadeh was discussing how to approach various legal cases with his father Shehadeh felt his father did not agree or did not want to go far enough. Both men wanted the same thing, but the differences in their approaches led to friction between the two of them. 

 I liked this book a great deal and if you are interested in learning more about Palestinian history, culture, and experiences I would recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

bcope84's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation

s_i_d's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Torture

bookwookie's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

This was an amazing book. I’ve read two books now by Raja Shehadeh and haven’t been disappointed yet. He writes with such clarity and kindness; his determination and beliefs evident in every word. I’m very impressed by how he is able to speak so openly about his relationship with his father (can’t relate- I got that locked down). Also with the current situation in Palestine, reading books like this is all the more important. 

In the name of Aziz Shehadeh, FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸🩷

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Violence

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and War

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism