Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

199 reviews

nerp's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

WOW. The hype is not wrong. This isn’t a traditional story with plot and character development and what have you—it’s a family epic spanning generations and countries to paint a picture of African and American Blackness. This is a book about pain and intergenerational trauma, but it’s also a book about intergenerational survival and contentment, about the knowledge and stories held in blood and ancestry. This book is about the realities and legacies of colonialism—but more than that. This is a book worth studying for craft, as the storytelling structure and the feeling of the story being told in circles so neatly works with its thematic concerns.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Religious bigotry, and War

nataliecoyne's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

The 4.5-star rating instead of a 5-star rating is because it was a bit difficult to really get into at the beginning. But I quickly fell in love with it and the dual storylines of the two branches of the family (one branch that ended up staying in Ghana vs one that ended up enslaved in America). I would definitely recommend this to others, though urge others to keep in mind this is more character-focused than necessarily plot-focused (which is why I think it was a bit difficult to initially get into).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and War

melbell222's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Xenophobia, and Police brutality

kyrag96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Slavery

Moderate: Death and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Child death, and Abandonment

paigewarn's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

frida_epilogo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

entropyseeker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this book, but much like history, it wasn't exactly fun. The story traces the family line of two sisters over 20+ people and 300 years. Starting in Africa and ending in America. I loved that each of the characters felt so distinct. That each person had their own arcs and struggles, but we're still somehow rather short. Some lives were absolutely tragic and some were hopeful. I don't think I could re-read this, but great book nonetheless. Read the content warnings tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

leahb88's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is so gorgeous. The way that each person’s story is woven into the whole narrative to show the impact of colonialism. I loved how the author really emphasized the importance of place, land, and community. It felt like the characters continually returned to their ancestors, sometimes in small or indirect ways, but it left you with the feeling that we are all connected and each have an impact on each other.
It might be a bit difficult to read for some because of trying to keep all the characters and timelines straight, but there’s a family tree at the beginning and I found that the chapters were laid out in a way that made it pretty easy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness

baearles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Mental illness, Rape, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

ravina_b's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this novel and as someone that loves historical family epics, I wasn’t sure how a telling of multiple generations could be conveyed completely within 300 pages.  HOMEGOING is about two sisters, one who marries a merchant and one who becomes enslaved.  Yaa Gyasi takes us through seven generations of each woman, exploring the different journeys their lives take and providing an insight into the extent of the damage that the slave trade inflicted on African communities.

I learnt a bit about how the Fante and Asante people dealt with British colonisation, and actually how little I knew about what exactly was happening when Europeans arrived in regions of Africa — gaps that I now know to learn more about.  In fact, I’ve read that Gyasi tied each character to a significant historical event and I’m not sure yet that I’m able to identify them all, so there’s a bit more work to be done on my part.

This was a tough read and some parts were extremely upsetting but, whilst I would have liked to learn a bit more about each character than I was able to with each getting roughly 20 pages each, it’s something I would turn to again.

📌 Set across Ghana and the United States.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape