Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

26 reviews

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Classism, and Xenophobia

lauraglovestoread's review against another edition

challenging inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars.

This collection of short stories is best read after (re)watching Dirty Computer, as the text is set in the world of Dirty Computer and includes the characters therein.  I appreciate this collection as a hopeful visioning, in many cases focused on the carving out of utopian, pleasurable spaces amidst struggles for liberation from totalitarianism.  I like the inclusion of a short essay and some discussion questions at the end of the book, well suited to a book club.  With each short story featuring a different co-author, I did find the collection read a bit unevenly, with some stories more compelling than others.  The book is best at its most subtle; in a few instances, the analysis felt a bit heavy.  Monáe is tremendously talented and I'm not at all surprised her first work of written fiction is solid; I'll happily pick up her next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality

agw622's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

As a collection of short stories there will of course be some better than others. Most of them are written to really challenge you to think in a world set to allow you to contemplate modern days issues. The charecters are amazing and vibrant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Chronic illness and Drug use

a_davis's review

adventurous reflective fast-paced

2.25

I was honestly pretty disappointed by this. I loved the visual album Dirty Computer but the writing, plots, and characters felt undeveloped and rushed. I really enjoyed TIMEBOX and SAVE CHANGES and I’m planning on seeing what else those authors have written, but overall this was not what I expected or wanted :/

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

readerette's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

3.5

Each story takes place in the same universe, and some have the same characters. Since multiple authors are involved, each story has its own feel. Some of them were overly long in my opinion, and others had far too much poetry in the dialogue or descriptions, making it more difficult to understand what was going on, and making the characters less relatable since it's not a very natural speech pattern.

Feeling "othered" is a major theme in each story, and non-hetero relationships, non-cis/enby identity, and racial and ethnic diversity also played major roles. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cursing and Sexual content

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I love Janele Monáe, so it makes me so sad that this is not the book for me. I love the concept, but I feel like the world building was too dense for a short story collection. Everytime I was starting to get a grasp on what was going on the story would change. I had to look up other reviews as I read to get a better handle of what was going on. I was able to follow Save Changes the easiest and really enjoyed it. As others have said, I hope to come back to this with a physical copy and annotation materials and hopefully I will enjoy it more, as I really wanted to the first time. If you're considering this I'd definitely say it's worth a shot, especially if you enjoy Afrofuturistic & LGBT+ content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, and Police brutality

bashsbooks's review

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Dirty Computer fans, the story continues in this collection. I enjoy the translation of a tale told through audio and visuals into a written text, and I think this is a cool futuristic text with interesting and compelling things to say about gender, race, memory, sexuality, relationships, and revolution. I will say, it was a little slow to start; I had trouble fully immersing myself in the world and what was happening until the third narrator, Neer, and their perspective picks up at page 120. After that, the book was much more engaging. Timebox and Save Changes were my favorite stories in the collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, and Gun violence

Minor: Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Cursing

maryellen's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Confinement, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, and Misogyny

leannanecdote's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Confinement, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Violence, Transphobia, Racism, Police brutality, Mental illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexism, War, and Drug use

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book tells beautiful stories about Black, queer and trans resistance, resilience and excellence. The stories are clever and impactful with characters and plotlines that resonate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Racism