Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

94 reviews

shrachel_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Suicide

ennzito24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Words can't describe how much I love this book. This was one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read and it's something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Theorizing was so captivating and elegant! While the book is fiction, the subject matter behind it is very much real. Honorée is truly a master storyteller and I can't wait to read more of her work. Everyone needs to read this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective

• 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

This is probably the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. The author has a way with words and combined with her extensive research, she weaves an immersive fictional but realistic tale about a multigenerational family–mostly seen through the eyes of the main protagonist (Ailey) from childhood to adulthood. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew these characters after experiencing the highs and lows with them. I enjoyed reading every bit of this almost 800-page masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

cassielaj's review

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This book has so much going on, and I still felt like I could’ve kept reading for 100 more pages because the writing is so beautiful. It is absolutely captivating. Beautifully written, informative, and engaging. It ties in major historical events with characters’ lives in a really impressive and effective way. It’s telling family history and American history at the same time, showing how they’re interconnected. It’s also expertly paced for such a long book. I love the jumping back and forth between timelines, connecting Ailey’s present and family history through her ancestral land. It’s horribly sad and challenging to read, but terribly important. And it has some uplifting moments as well. I really enjoyed reading about Ailey’s journey and the way everything connected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

cmklaft's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

joensign's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Death of parent

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Colonisation

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence

bhill46's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

This was one of the most heart-wrenching, emotionally-complex books I have ever read. This one will stick with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape

all1thegr8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

3.5

A beautiful tale of one Black family’s lineage and a woman’s growth into fully understanding her roots. 

Incredible writing and storylines. Jeffers makes great use of 797 pages; although the book is certainly long, it’s length feels appropriate for the depth and vastness of its contents (creating meaningful storylines for over 300+ years of characters & discussing themes of their life is not easy!)

Think I will need significant time to digest this novel. While it’s depth and vastness can be an asset, these qualities can also make it difficult to discern critical takeways, at least immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Classism