Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

7 reviews

withlivjones's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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? No

3.75

This book had a really slow start, but I’m glad I stayed with it because the second half was brilliant. This is a brutal, vivid depiction of being both black and queer in Britain, spanning from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, as well as a prologue from the POV of a Windrush migrant in the 1950s (which seems irrelevant at first but does play a big part in the end of the book, I promise!) Mendez does a fantastic job of evoking the atmosphere and setting of the Black Country and London, and particularly the London chapters are very reminiscent of Zadie Smith’s NW in the way the city is depicted through the various characters who live there. While the first half felt rather disjointed, I loved how all the pieces eventually came together for the novel’s conclusion. I am honestly shocked that this was Mendez’s debut novel as they’ve already really honed their narrative voice, and I’m looking forward to whatever they put out next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

arlaubscher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Miscarriage

sallygalula's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

reshusky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

uranaishi's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Slavery, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

smblanc1793's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.0

I’d like to specify that this rating is for me personally, not speaking to the overall quality of the book, but to how I personally felt about it. I think I went into this book expecting more of a conversation around sexuality and religion, more about Jesse and his former life, rather than his life after moving to London. The graphic nature of the sex scenes, while I respect them as a bold and radical choice on the author’s part, are not my cup of tea. 

Overall, I felt it to be a bit slow, a bit meandering and melancholic, and a bit difficult to get into for me personally. That being said, I am glad I read it; I think the topics it deals with are important, its characters raw and real, and its prose is polished and emotional. Cover gets five stars tho. 10/10. Could stare at it for hours.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

chig_flicks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Death of parent