Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

28 reviews

averyarden's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Sexual content

mladd28's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

booksnooksandcooks's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

Definitely a book I could re-read and pull out parts of the text I never studied before and it could change the whole book.

Beautifully written and the magical realism is both transformative and also bone-chilling. I struggled a bit with the characters and development, but Ward presents the family in such a heart breaking way that the reader weeps alongside them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read magical realism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Abandonment, and Alcohol

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

4.25

This book is really raw and hard-hitting, and it has about every trigger warning possible. It's a world that many of us who are white and middle-class don't know and have been able to ignore as the faraway south. But the issues that this family faces are solvable, and it's all of our responsibility to change policy to put those social programs in place. This book is also a great anti-"classic literature" example - it's lyrical and winding and shows that there is not one way to write.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Abandonment

mallowdrama's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Probably the best climax and ending I've read in a novel before. Incredibly introspective and reflective.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Slavery

caleighrosebud's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Slavery, and Police brutality

katreads2022's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.0

The language of this book is just so amazing. The prose alone vaunts it to exceptional, although the plot can be somewhat aimless and bare. Jesmyn Ward writes beautifully. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Slavery

taratearex's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

 First read 2018: Wow, I loved this. Lyrical, vivid, heavy, and emotional, but beautiful, I was so drawn in to the story that I just consumed it so quickly, like I never came up for air. So I think I'd like to listen to the audiobook too, also this would be great for a book club, so please read it and then discuss it with me! Looking forward to finding her other books and reading those.

Reread 2024: Wow, it's taken me a while to reread this, in the meantime I've read all of her other books. I remembered very little once I actually started reading this again. I also did the audiobook along with my physical copy. The audiobook was really good, loved the voice actors- I looked them up and I don't think they've done other books or I'd seek out more from them. I will say that even though the audiobook was really well read, I think I personally enjoyed reading the physical book more just based on the prose, I think it just works better for me to sink into the writing that way. A beautiful, haunting, and heartbreaking story, don't pick up a Jesmyn Ward book unless you are ready for it to break you apart, but it's so worth it. Her characters always feel so painfully real that I think about them long after closing the book.  Also, note the content warnings, this book is very graphic, particularly with the deaths that occur.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

ekmook's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

robinbobbin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder