Review by AntonelaMaria -- Divided World
- AntonelaMaria
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Review by AntonelaMaria -- Divided World
Divided World: Plays of Occupation and Dispossession is a collection of plays by Hannah Khalil, Kate Al Hadid, and Hassan Abdulrazzak and edited by Kenneth Pickering.
This book begins with a Sykes-Picot dialogue devised by Kenneth Pickering called Exploring the Boundaries. Then we have six plays combined by Khalil, Al Halid, and Abdulrazzak, which vary in length, but they are all equally impressive. Towards the end, there is an important monologue inspired by an interview with a Syrian refugee called The Ship No One Wanted. Even though this is a short collection with only 186 pages, the impact of it is undeniable.
It is hard to pick my favorite play, character, or part of this book. They are all important, timely, and thought-provoking. Every character of this book is relevant and powerful in its delivery. But I enjoyed reading Al Hadid’s play a lot. Her characters, Nedar and Yousef, are the ones that would stay with me for a long time. That play, in particular, with its realness, hopefulness, and the bittersweet end, is very compelling.
Every story reflects the reality of the world we are living in. I loved to read the monologue from the perspective of a refugee woman from Syria. I think that is not something that we see enough in the media, and we should know more about it. I love the writing of these plays. There were a lot of raw emotions, but also a lot of humor in them. The premise has many complicated life situations with the characters’ struggles portrayed very realistically. This collection is perfect for deeper conversations among readers and society in general.
I would rate this book with a perfect score of four out of four stars. I didn't notice any grammatical errors. The editing of this book is exceptional. I can’t rate it any lower because of all the already mentioned reasons why I loved reading it. Overall, the takeaway from this book is tremendous for every single reader. If only I can convince you to try it.
Keep in mind there are some minor swear words if that is something that bothers you. Also, don’t forget that these are collections of plays, and they write it as such. I would recommend this book to everyone, not just historians or students. Give this book a chance. If for nothing else, do it to enrich your knowledge of topics that you may not know much about. Each play is own voices, that fact is also extremely important to point out.
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Divided World
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