Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Morgen, morgen und wieder morgen by Gabrielle Zevin

207 reviews

eevah's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Vomit and Cultural appropriation

slowburnsrus's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

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

2.0

When I started this book I was bored by the clunky and self indulgent writing, and annoyed by the peak White Feminism critique of trauma and cultural appropriation that was far less thoughtful and nuanced than the Barbie movie. 

The root of my dissatisfaction is that reading about a character playing a game is like reading about a character working out…fun when you do it yourself, excruciating when we read the minutiae of another’s experience.

The strongest part of this book is its work with grief, and the metaphors around gaming in relation to grief and loss. That grabbed me in the second half and kept me reading.

But the writing feel excessively overwrought with not enough payoff in either plot or observations on the human condition to make me enjoy reading it. 

I cannot express how much I came to loathe many of the characters, particular Dov, the sexual harasser and groomer who (spoiler) gets a fucking redemption arc at the end of the book.

I was surprised that there were fewer attributions than I would expected in the authors note as I recognized many of the book’s references, and Sadie in particular was prone to insightful wanderings that so had definitely read before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Abortion

raquellecollins's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

danpolta's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

lulialof's review against another edition

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

3.0

It had a good pace and nice focus on a special, deep friendship. It is not the most realistic story out there, but it does not have to be. Felt influenced by Normal People (Sally Rooney) and A little life (Hanya Yanagihara), but still keeping love and overcoming challenges at the heart of the story, rather than digging a deep hole of misery. Easy to read, not earthshatteringly unique or fascinating in terms of story and language, but still captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

rebeccaquinton's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

bethanwx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

An intricate, addictive at times infuriating tale of a friendship spanning decades. The literary references are so brilliantly linked to their experiences and the characters are so richly explored.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Blood

badmom's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

This lovely, loving, and poignant study of friends & family (exploring definitions + expectations of each) also offers an unexpectedly fascinating study of video game/gamer history. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives throughout, helping us to better understand the characters and making their relationships feel deeper & richer. Occasionally scenes felt rushed or abrupt, leaving me wishing for more insight though that could also be a reflection of real life - we don’t always get the detail & closure we hope for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

This book is great. It’s not like Ready Player One. It’s kind of like The Social Network but with mildly more sympathetic characters at its core. It’s ultimately about the work/life balance of three friends that start a video game company together told through the eyes of 2 out of the 3 of them. It also might be peak late Gen-X/Early Millennial nostalgia in terms of the video games referenced and it essentially inserts itself into how things actually happened in reality. Please note the sexism, misogyny and racist tendencies the characters Sam, Marx and their family members came across is realistically depicted. There’s also an active shooter situation depicted in the novel so be aware if it triggers you. One character also engages in an inappropriate relationship with a person with authority over them and mind if it triggers you. One character has a mobility disability and there’s vivid depictions of his struggles with medical care and health. There is suicide and car accidents depicted as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Triggers are either actively in there or suggested somewhere throughout the book. I honestly might have missed some but I really enjoyed this book and its depiction of the years shown and how Zevin’s characters lived through those times.

heidi_fischer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail