Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

148 reviews

ringofkeyz's review against another edition

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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Trafficking, and Colonisation

Minor: Physical abuse, Police brutality, and War

grumpyreading's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

📚 Review: This book was devastating and beautiful. Gyasi’s writing is amazing, and the way she chose to give the characters familial ties and make this an intergenerational saga raised the stakes so much. There are long chapters and it’s slow-paced, but still hard to put down. Gyasi told these stories in a beautiful way and I’m glad I read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

akinyiakinyi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a beautifully crafted story that poignantly captures the adversities and trials faced by generations. It begins with the birth of Maame (the Firewoman's) firstborn daughter, Effia. Effia's father had relations with a captured slave who served as a housemaid. Before running away to freedom, Maame leaves a black stone as a keepsake for her daughter.
Effia marries a white man who, without guilt, participated in the slave trade. Her descendants remain in Africa, striving to overcome the legacy of slavery while embracing their traditions amidst the Scramble for Africa, colonization, religious change, education, and the ongoing search for a sense of belonging.
Maame's second daughter, Esi, a high-born woman, is tragically captured by slave traders. Her descendants endure a harrowing journey through the horrors of slavery, grappling with racism, segregation, forced labor, limited opportunities, poverty, drug abuse, and even prostitution to survive.
It is a profound relief to witness Marcus and Marjorie reconnect and return to Africa, leaving their fears behind and embracing a newfound sense of freedom.
This story is undoubtedly worth the read. I would love to know where Esi's black stone went, or did I miss it?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

bseigel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

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

rizky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katlau's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

4.25

Each character’s story pulled me in and had a distinct voice. Thought-provoking structure, where the final chapters are pretty explicit about what the book is trying to do, put two current day individuals into the context of their ancestors with one path through the Gold Coast and Ghana and one through the U.S. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

underneathstars's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

Roots meets the page

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

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

kollieollie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

To me, this book is a must read. It is a highly reflective book on the inter generational trauma of the Atlantic Slave trade as shown through different generations of two connected families. The emotions make it a challenging book to read, and I found that I read these chapters much slower than normal with far more breaks than I would usually take. That said, I thought this book was so well done. I particularly appreciated seeing the parallels of the impact of the Slave trade not just in the US, but in Western Africa as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy