All My Rage? More like All My Feels after finishing this book! This book is not going to be for everyone. All My Rage is very heavy, very dark, and while its beautiful, its also heartbreaking. You really need to be in the right headspace to read this one and know going into it, its generally not a happy book. There are happy moments. The ending is happy….ish? But it’s deals with tough subject matter.
This is told in three POV’s – Misbah as “then” in the past tense, and Salahudin and Noor as “now” in present time. Misbah is Salahudin’s mother who passes away early on in this story. We still hear from her in the past tense how she had an arranged marriage and eventually came to America and when Salahudin was born, up until when she dies.
These chapters are short, changing perspectives with each chapter and that made this book feel like it went very quickly. Salahudin “Sal” and Noor are childhood friends, currently seniors in high school, just trying to survive and finish school. Misbah was an auntie to Noor, almost like a mother, as her own family all died when she was a child in Pakistan – her only surviving family is her uncle who rescued her and took her in, bringing her to America.
Sal lost his mother, his father is an alcoholic, and he’s a high school student trying to save his mothers pride and joy of the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel from being lost – overdue bills are piled up and he’s only a kid.
Noor wants to leave town and go to college – any college – but her uncle tells her she will continue to work at his liquor store full time after finishing high school so he can go back to school himself, something he gave up when raising Noor.
This book deals a lot with familial terms between younger and older characters and their relations to each other, aunt, uncle, etc. even if the characters were not blood related. I was not familiar with Muslim or Pakistani customs prior to this book, so I learned a lot. I know many cultures outside of America use these terms, but as a white American I am not personally accustomed to them – I enjoyed learning more though.
Sabaa Tahir’s writing is stunning – I’ve read a lot of books, and this is one of the best I’ve read in 2022. She knows how to tell a story. She knows how to pace it. Sabaa weaves words together like a master. Even when the subject matter is heartbreaking, Sabaa tells it so well.
There is so much happening in this book – just like real life. People die and you have to grieve and learn to somehow continue living your life. People are racist and judgemental against those who are different from them. Sometimes you need to do what you have to to survive and get by – even if it isn’t always the right thing. It’s hard to sum up this book in a review, and I truly believe this is one you should experience for yourself.
This is told in three POV’s – Misbah as “then” in the past tense, and Salahudin and Noor as “now” in present time. Misbah is Salahudin’s mother who passes away early on in this story. We still hear from her in the past tense how she had an arranged marriage and eventually came to America and when Salahudin was born, up until when she dies.
These chapters are short, changing perspectives with each chapter and that made this book feel like it went very quickly. Salahudin “Sal” and Noor are childhood friends, currently seniors in high school, just trying to survive and finish school. Misbah was an auntie to Noor, almost like a mother, as her own family all died when she was a child in Pakistan – her only surviving family is her uncle who rescued her and took her in, bringing her to America.
Sal lost his mother, his father is an alcoholic, and he’s a high school student trying to save his mothers pride and joy of the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel from being lost – overdue bills are piled up and he’s only a kid.
Noor wants to leave town and go to college – any college – but her uncle tells her she will continue to work at his liquor store full time after finishing high school so he can go back to school himself, something he gave up when raising Noor.
This book deals a lot with familial terms between younger and older characters and their relations to each other, aunt, uncle, etc. even if the characters were not blood related. I was not familiar with Muslim or Pakistani customs prior to this book, so I learned a lot. I know many cultures outside of America use these terms, but as a white American I am not personally accustomed to them – I enjoyed learning more though.
Sabaa Tahir’s writing is stunning – I’ve read a lot of books, and this is one of the best I’ve read in 2022. She knows how to tell a story. She knows how to pace it. Sabaa weaves words together like a master. Even when the subject matter is heartbreaking, Sabaa tells it so well.
There is so much happening in this book – just like real life. People die and you have to grieve and learn to somehow continue living your life. People are racist and judgemental against those who are different from them. Sometimes you need to do what you have to to survive and get by – even if it isn’t always the right thing. It’s hard to sum up this book in a review, and I truly believe this is one you should experience for yourself.