THE BRUISING OF QILWA is a layered work, indeed. It explores the legacy of an empire—post-imperialist, post-colonialist inhabitants coming to terms with their cultural history and identity.
Specifically, in the afterword, the author asks the question “What does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor”- which feels like one of the major questions this book is asking.
But that’s only one part of this intersectional work, with nuanced character motivations and some fantastic queer (non-binary and aro/ace) representation. What seemed like a simple medical fantasy at first, another “COVID novel” (I feel like I’ve already read too many of those, and COVID isn’t even over yet…) surprised me with its complex themes and challenges.
Definitely feels like the author had more to say here. I would love to be able to explore this world further. There was so much to unpack in this novella… Most importantly, it all feels executed rather well. This is such a diverse work—prominent queer representation, multiculturalism, colonization, genocide, plague, trauma, refugees, … a lesser writer would not have been able to do it justice in so few words.
I look forward to reading more Naseem Jamnia books in the future. A voice to look out for.
G. Lowie
Goran Lowie is an avid reader of all kinds of speculative fiction and poetry. For years, he's been rotting away in some rural hellhole in Belgium, but luckily he has literature to keep him going!
His real obsession with the genre sparked with the incomporable works of Ursula K. Le Guin, and his heart stayed there forever. Other favourite authors include Patricia A. McKillip, Mary Soon Lee, John Wiswell, Robert Silverberg and Italo Calvino.
When Goran isn't reading books, he's either editing this very magazine or creating lesson plans for his day-job as a high school teacher! You can find him on Twitter: @GoranLowie
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