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thursdd4y's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
alishaabrahamsreads's review against another edition
4.0
i think, unfortunately i only like this one. i can acknowledge the absolute mastery of craft Yaa Gyasi holds and the way her characters feel real and layered. but for some reason i didn't feel it "deep within me" -- maybe bc each ch is something new and newly horrific as well, but something just didn't click with me
also please look into TWs bc each chapter has something triggering in it (based on history, real world scenerios)
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
merakiforest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Gore, and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
This is an absolute masterpiece. It's sprawling and all-encompassing whilst at the same time being deeply, deeply intimate. Naturally I connected to some characters and storylines more than I did others, but it was just such a privilege to be able to get to know so many members of one family over so many centuries. Yaa Gyasi does so much with so comparatively few pages for the multitudes this book contains, and it never feels as if anyone or anything isn't given the time and space and exploration they deserve. I am completely astounded that this is a debut novel.
I'm honestly struggling to form coherent thoughts but this just completely hit me on a level I was not expecting and I am just absolutely obsessed with it. It has so many important things to say about ancestry, history, race, relationships, and so much more, and I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough (but do be aware that it's extremely heavy - pls check content warnings <3).
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Vomit
astralfeline's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Excrement, and War
Minor: Child death, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury
bigolscrewup's review against another edition
- 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
Forgiveness, they shouted, all the while committing their wrongs
5/5🌟
How can a debut novel be this good ? Honestly the thing that surprises me more is the fact that it's a short book ( only 300 or so pages ) even though the story spans over two centuries, exploring each sister's family through the years. When I first started the book, I was sceptical, because it has a lot of characters and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep all the characters and their origin in place, but the way it was written, like a collection of short stories all related to previous generation made reading this book enjoyable.
Among all the books I've read in this particular genre, I loved reading it the most and that's all down to author's storytelling and the research behind it. I was able to learn more about slave trade and how it started out in countries like Ghana and the relationship dynamics between the slavers, the middle man and the British.
Especially with Esi's family line, It was disheartening, reading about the cruel laws that permitted the enslavement and wrongful imprisonment of innocent people in those times and it is heartbreaking to acknowledge the fact that it still persists today.
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
cecereads__'s review against another edition
4.5
It was gut-wrenching and tragic and criminally cruel, and heart-achingly stunning/heavy all at the same time.
Full of individual experiences - all including prejudice, discrimination and injustice - of about 250 years and seven generations. The subtlety of our world’s history and relationship with racism lives on to this day, and we cannot deny that or deny the history lesson that this book provides so vividly and thoroughly.
Favourite stories/chapters out of the 14 would have to be Ness, Kojo and H.
I need this to be required reading. But I also acknowledge the very heavy subject of colonialism and white superiority complexes. It is confronting but that’s how reality works…
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
rhi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism
chelle22's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
booksillremember'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Colonisation