Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

20 reviews

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

2treads's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

4.0

As a Jamaican reader, having experienced the music and dancehall scene represented here in Crooks' novel, I was captivated. The prose is alive with the riddims and sounds of my country, the movements and tension of the dancehall and the skanking style of my people. 

Not only has she chosen to write this ode to a part of our musical heritage and legend but she has infused it with scenes of Black life in England that have been passed down in stories by families and friends.

Yamaye as a character is recognizable and I empathize with her. She loved and lost and then had to fight to emerge from a very predatory and violatory relationship in which she was seeking a safe place. The aid and welcome she found in Jamaica warmed my heart and I could see her strength emerging. 

I can see how the reverb and bass heavy prose might throw some readers, but coming from the island where our patwa is steeped in expressions like these, especially when one is surrounded by music and musicality just made this read even more special to me. I' jus' mek sense.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence

katarinabee's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-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

4.25

This was fantastic to read as an audiobook - I loved hearing patois spoken aloud by Leonie Elliot, and the excerpts of music that sometimes played in the background created so much atmosphere and context. I loved how embodied and powerful music was in this book - almost to the point that Yamaye's descriptions of music at times felt like magic realism. I also really liked the concept of how history isn't in the past - it's always embedded in the present, and continuing to reverberate alongside our lives. Occasionally the plot lost a bit of steam and felt a little disjointed - but overall I  thought this book was great, and can't wait to see what Jacqueline Crooks writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

geraldinerowe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-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

3.75

Fire Rush swept me into a world I previously knew nothing about. The author expertly takes you into the mind of the protagonist as she goes on her journey to discover those she really loves. However, the story itself is fragmented in places. Some episodes begin strongly but stop abruptly. Some major plot lines are never resolved. This is a good book, but it could have been great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Police brutality

Minor: Toxic friendship

kwahl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

wordsofclover's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Police brutality

lilly_anne's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Dementia, and Grief

emziesreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

minnietimperley's review

dark informative tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Police brutality

serendipitysbooks's review

emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

 Fire Rush is my final read from the Women’s Prize longlist and it is exactly what I’d been wanting from the longlist - a book that hadn’t been on my radar but that I absolutely loved. To be clear Fire Rush isn’t the only book from the longlist that I’ve loved. But it is the only one that I hadn’t already read or at least had on my TBR. It is set in 1979, chiefly in the United Kingdom and is the story of Yamaye, a young Black woman who loves to spend her weekends dancing to dub music at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London, until tragedy alters the trajectory of her life.

One of my lasting memories of this story is it’s vibrancy and energy. There is real rhythm and beat in the prose, and while dub is not my music of choice, the author really made me feel Yamaye’s love for it. The energy comes not solely from the music, but also from Yamaye’s grief, anger and fear. Although it is set in 1979 this book could, sadly, be a contemporary story with the storylines around police brutality and prejudice against Black people and communities continuing to be timely and relevant. This book also offered a look into underground political resistance movements. Two things struck me here. One was the sexism and abusive behaviour of men in the movement. I think it is important to acknowledge both the achievements and goals of these men, as well as their flaws and weaknesses. I also loved the way the novel linked the racism in the UK and the resistance to it back to slavery in the Caribbean and the revolts against that, especially the Maroons.

I listened to this on audio, something I highly recommend. Not only is the narration fantastic with authentic patois pronunciation, but the added extras in the production, such as snippets of music between chapters, immerses the listener in Yamaye’s world. This book definitely makes my shortlist, and is one readers who enjoyed Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other should pick up.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Police brutality