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noahsingh's review against another edition
4.25
- Love a family/generational story.
-Colonial resistance storylines were really interesting.
-Felt like I heard some perspectives I hadn't heard before, and learnt some historical stuff about the exploitation of black people post-slavery I hadn't heard about before.
Ending was a lil disappointing to me tho,
Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
beanew'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
The motifs throughout the book were well explored and neatly wrapped up, and I wish I had could write an essay on the ways Gyasi chose to resolve certain elements (the stone necklaces!!!). I found so many of the characters deeply compelling and empathetic, so wildly different from each other. Gyasi never shies away from the brutality of the slave trade, it feels very painfully realistic in ways that Americans are never truly shown in history class.
My criticisms are that I felt the very final chapter was not as moving as I expected it to be simply because Marcus is the least fleshed-out character (in my opinion) of the whole book, so to end with him felt weak. I loved the character of Marjorie, but I found that the similarities to Gyasi’s own life experiences took me out of the story many times; instead of being immersed, I found myself wondering which pieces of that chapter were autobiographical or wish fulfillment of the author. Also a pattern of minor fat phobia happened frequently enough that it simply can’t be the character’s perspectives, it’s just Gyasi’s opinion. Beautiful people are “thick”, dumb/mean/loud/gluttonous people are “fat”. Felt weird, but didn’t majorly detract from the story!
Overall, the concept was so beautifully executed and the book was so moving and heartbreaking in equal measures. I would highly recommend it!
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death and Colonisation
Minor: Fatphobia
rieviolet'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
3.75
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging.
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).
At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder
someonelikeblue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Hate crime, Police brutality, and Car accident
kunila's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Minor: Fatphobia
skudiklier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and War