I'm so disappointed by this - after 50%, I have to give up on what I'm finding to be a self-indulgent and exploitative way to use the genocide in Palestine to market what is otherwise a personal memoir. I don't disagree with the points Akkad makes by any means - Western media and Liberalism have actively sought to erase Palestine and eradicate its citizens while hiding behind a virtuous persona. Language is a tool deliberately used to weaponize, undermine, and misrepresent marginalized groups (particularly those from the Middle East in a post-9/11 context).

I have an issue with this not in the subject or themes but in the execution. This is not well-written and alternates between a personal memoir and highlights from Palestine since October 7th, 2023. The two arcs have some thematic overlap, but I can't overlook the blatant hypocrisy in some of the storytelling choices this makes. The discourse is primarily focused on headlines or scant facts about the events in Palestine with virtually no references or sources. In the age of misinformation (deliberate or otherwise) AND about a subject that is so contentious to the general public, it is important to have reliable sources to support your claims. Otherwise, the content of the book can be easily dismissed as not being truthful or valid.

While I'm no expert on Palestine and every historical event leading up to the event of October 7th, I would expect a book about this to provide the reader with more historical context and meaningful discourse. The delivery of this feels like the quality and reputability I'd find in an Instagram carousel or substack article, not a published book with a hefty relative cost. Anyone who has kept up with the events in Palestine and done some critical thinking about Western media would find very little new information from this.

I struggle to even recommend this as a good introductory source to the recent portrayal of Palestine because it's so surface-level and broken up with Akkad's history which is largely unrelated. The systemic racism, xenophobia, and misrepresentation that immigrants like Akkad experience in the West is important, but this is hardly novel nor does it provide sufficient spotlight to Palestinians. It seems ironic Akkad spends so much time being critical of America for treating the Middle East as a monolith yet also implies that his own experiences mirror the recent events in Palestine. America is largely the culprit behind these tenuous international relations and acts of violence, but that doesn't make the experiences equal.

I'm glad some readers are finding value in this, as it spotlights some important issues that should act as catalysts for change, resistance, and reform to existing systems. With that said, I think there are considerably better resources on Palestine and I am disappointed with the approach this took to represent them.

Drawing on his work as a former journalist, and a former winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize Omar does an excellent job breaking down Liberal Apathy in the wake of the Genocide in Gaza. How Liberal Arts will stand against injustice, except for Palestine which has been treated as a necessary evil. Omar also reflects who this narrative will shift in the years to come. Regardless of the out come Historians, Writers, and those who claim to be more Liberal will decry it a tragedy in hindsight but in the current moment.

A relevant read that I know I will find myself going back to over and over again. Especially in a couple of years as this might become a text that ends up saying "I told you so."

How poignant, timely, and distressingly thought-provoking. Through a series of personal anecdotes, world history, and unfolding events we are taken through an unpeeling of Western ethical superiority and begin to reckon with what that means on a larger scale. The structure captured the near poetic writing and cadence of the work and was compellingly presented. Unforgettable.

This book is essential reading for all humans. It is blunt and brutal and necessary and unyielding in its critique of not only the past 15 months but the past hundred years. This book will be going into the hands of every customer.

Through his essays and commentary on the West's treatment of Brown people, to the genocide in Palestine, the use of language in journalism, and his lived experience, Omar El Akkad voices out what I'm sure many of us have felt and continue to feel about the current state of the world we live in. The book assumes you are informed and have kept up with what's going on in Gaza, so bear that in mind. While I gathered nothing new from the book, it helped me process my thoughts and feelings and gave me hope that I wasn't alone.