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c_serpent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Total score: 5/5 stars
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism
thereadhersrecap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I can't believe this book was her debut novel! The writing was spectacular. She has a way of transporting you out of your body and into the characters mind. The characterization was the best and meat of the book and Gyasi nailed it.
The novel follows two ancestry lines of Ghanian children as the embark on separate but destined journeys. Two half sisters, Effia and Esi, born to different villages in the 18th century lead two very different lives. One is married off to an Englishman and lives in the castle on the shore, the other is imprisoned beneath her and sold into the slave trade where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. We see each character navigate historical events such as The Civil War, The Great Migration, Jim Crow, Harlem and heroin.
The books is told through a series of chapters dedicated to on individual of the ancestry. Although each chapter looks at a new character's life, Gyasi still presents a complete and cohesive story.
Weakness is treating someone as though they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves."
The portrait of slavery is one I will never understand, but with books like these it truly helps to paint a picture of the atrocities African's withstood. It's frustrates me that this part of American history is just a blurb in the history books. Gyasi shows the impact slavery plays on everyone spanning generations, robbing families of spouses, killing, and structuring the world at an unfair advantage.
“We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there, you begin to get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.”
This book will stay with me forever.
CW: abandonment, addiction, death, classism, colonization, confinement, drug abuse, forced institutionalization, hate crime, physical abuse, police brutality, racism, religious bigotry, violence, torture, sexual assault
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kidcorvus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Colonisation
Moderate: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infertility, Racial slurs, and Grief
readingwithkt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
kkocik's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, and Colonisation
kallan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
lucy12345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and War
Minor: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
callica's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
theasbookworld's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
seanml's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Dysphoria