Reviews tagging 'War'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

144 reviews

caits_lh's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, and War

cal_sno's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wonderfully written and engaging book. Each generation’s story builds showing the hardships and family relationships 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and War

sparklefarm's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Really incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Excrement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and War

Minor: Homophobia

3littlewordz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Slow burn at the beginning, but my goodness, once I got to Ness's story, I couldn't put it down! Such an engrossing story that explored the generational trauma that slavery inflicted. It was easy to identify the common familial thread through several generations. It was heartbreaking at times but always hopeful. I would have loved to see each generation more fleshed out for a truly epic novel - I love big books, I can't lie! I'm very ready to Yaa Gyasi's second offering. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and War

lanna2000's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

the stories in this novel rooted in so much truth and history were both impossible to stop reading but also the most difficult read ive finished this year. i felt like i could continue reading every descendants story passed where the book ends. writing everything into 300 pages is masterful and Gyasi storytelling has me wanting to read more. I attached to each character emotionally and the ending characters connecting really tied the whole book together. i think everyone should read this! there are not enough good things to be said so just read it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and War

minnow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A stunning, heartbreaking book. This book follows two branches of a family throughout generations, telling heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story. We see slavery at its peak from the viewpoints of both the slaves and the African slavers, and then we follow the echoes of those experiences through multiple generations. The story is lush and vivid, graphic scenes are delivered with an edge but never go too far. 

I deducted a partial star only because there is one storyline that was paced too slowly, in my opinion. I found myself caring a little less about that character and the story dragged in that part. All other storylines were perfectly paced and engaging.

The ending of this story is beautiful, and very satisfying. All in all, a masterpiece of a book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Vomit, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying

cortingbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Heartbreaking

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Colonisation, War, and Classism

onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, and War

zara89's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

astralfeline's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This book was so well done. Some of my favorite aspects of the book are the way it's organized, the way the characters lives are connected, and just how well it shows how impactful and systemic things like racism and slavery can be that it continues to affect families generations later. I loved the questions included in the end because it really made me reflect on things I hadn't even thought about, like the significance that names hold. I almost wish we'd been able to see more of each character, because we really only saw small glimpses of their experiences, but I did love seeing how later generations interacted with or talked about the earlier characters. Read this for a book club and we have had some great discussion so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Excrement, and War

Minor: Child death, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury