Reviews tagging 'Outing'

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson

8 reviews

iseefirede's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

A wonderful and informative read. I loved the footnotes with the history interwoven into the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

naddl0r's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad 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

5.0

I'm giving this 5 stars because everything I’ve read was absolutely amazing BUT this book is in desperate need of an epilogue because it ends on a cliffhanger of the sorts where you feel like a chapter is missing. It’s so abrupt, the story just isn’t over. Also- and this is highly subjective- some might say it lacks a little bit of emotion. And I can see it but disagree. I think an overly emotional, gut- wrenching, hightlighting-the-sad-and terrible-parts-of-AIDS writing style would do this particular story no good. 
I loved this book and can see myself re-reading it at some point. Well done, Rasheed Newson! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ameliahelene's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Newson uses 80s queer politics as a backdrop to a beautiful narrative about loss and love and political action. His use of important historical moments and people made the text feel so real and heartbreaking. Definitely recommend if you want to know more about queer political history, but you’re not much of a non-fiction reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, and Outing

thecriticalreader's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

 

Review:

I normally resent fiction books that try to give me a history lesson (I’d much rather read a nonfiction book for that sort of thing, thank you very much), but I make an enthusiastic exception for My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the informative passages and footnotes on American history make sense within the conceit of the novel, which is that of a retrospective memoir written by a Black queer elder about his life as a gay man in New York City during the AIDS crisis. The second is that this history Newson interweaves these historical facts within a riveting story. My Government Means to Kill Me is a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story, a political thriller, a queer history lesson, a mediation on political activism, and a devastating yet empowering portrait of the queer community during the AIDS epidemic, all incorporated seamlessly into a narrative of less than three hundred pages. I’ve never read anything quite like it. 

 

Newson juggles so many elements (and makes it look easy) in large part due to his excellent characterization. His main character, Trey Singleton, has a singular voice. Trey has flaws and personal struggles, but his strong moral compass, adaptability, and ability to make connections with strangers make him an extraordinarily likable main character. Besides Trey, the book is peppered with an array of colorful side characters, many of whom are so vividly described that I felt like I knew them. Through these characters, Newson makes history come alive: I felt simultaneously ineffable sorrow for the tragedy and malice that the queer community faced during the AIDS epidemic and immense admiration for those who resisted the attacks on their lives and their community. I could have read hundreds of more pages of My Government Means to Kill Me; Newson leaves a lot of aspects of Trey’s life open at the end of the book. I can’t complain, however, because I think that he ends the book at the exact right place for Trey’s coming-of-age story. 

 

Alas, I don’t think my review quite captures the brilliance of this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like My Government Means to Kill Me if . . . 

·      You are interested in a heartfelt and informative look into the AIDS crisis from the perspective of a young Black gay man living in New York City

·      You appreciate a well-written main character who learns a lot and grows as a person throughout the novel

·      You like to read books that balance tones of hope, tragedy, humor, adventure, and relatability

 

You might not like My Government Means to Kill Me if . . .

·      You want to avoid mentions or depictions of sex

·      You don’t like books that incorporate fictionalized versions of real historical figures

·      You like a book that wraps up all loose ends

 

A Similar Book: 

The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma. Similarities include:

·      A young main character who moves to a new place and assumes that this whole “life” thing will be a breeze, and subsequently experiences a lot of character growth

·      A unique and likable main character who uses their perceptiveness and pluck to make a positive difference in people’s lives

·      Strained familial relationships 

·      Colorful side-characters

·      A good mix of humor, heart, heaviness, and hard truths, with a tiny dash of thriller in the mix

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Outing

jkamler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jdianm's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Halfway through this book, I wondered how I’ve made it this far without reading a protagonist like Trey before. I want more! Through the story, I felt like I was right with him and it was where I wanted to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death

lvosler21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

onmalsshelf's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

I’m amazed that this is flying under the radar because it needs to be on everyone’s radar. 

A coming of age story following a black, gay man as he makes his own way in New York City after leaving his privileged family behind in Indianapolis. Set in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic, this collection of lessons that the main character, Trey, learns almost reads like a collection of memoir essays. 

This was a powerful reflection on a man coming of age in the Gay Rights movement as well as the AIDS epidemic. With both heartbreaking and comical moments, this was a powerful story that should be a must read.

If you enjoy books that trick you into thinking it’s nonfiction, but are actually fictional - pick this one up!

A TIP: Pick this one up as a physical or ebook copy! The footnotes help make the story and the audiobook version does not have the footnotes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism