Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

10 reviews

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual violence, Confinement, Murder, Colonisation, Torture, War, Death, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent and Sexism

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional informative tense slow-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? No

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Racism, War, and Domestic abuse

magalis's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

I expected to like this book much more than I did. I thought there was a good story somewhere in there, but it got bogged down in too many storylines and characters, and too much purple prose. I appreciated the extensive historical research that Mengiste clearly did for this, and the parallels and references to the Iliad were well constructed. I wanted there to be more to the characters and to the story though. For a 450 page long book, not a lot happens! I really liked Hirut as a character, but thought she got lost after the introduction of Ettore. I enjoyed the sub-plot following the Emperor and his deteriorating mental state, but didn't feel like his story was very fleshed-out. In the end, I found this a slog to get through and I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters and feel emotionally invested in the outcome of their stories. 

Content warnings for rape and pedophilia (child brides in their early-teens). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Death

Minor: Mental illness, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Misogyny

zoes_human's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.0

A beautifully written story of Ethiopia's fight against Mussolini's invasion. It is brutal and heartbreaking, but I don't think the truth of war can be told in any other way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Minor: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

ragna_'s review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a treat to read, Mengiste writes evocative and compelling prose. Oftentimes, when authors make frequent use of metaphor and simile it tends to unnecessarily densen the prose in ways that don't aid the actual narrative. Mengiste, however, manages to find those images that immediately deepen the emotional and atmospheric contexts of the situations with a single line and brings the reader much closer to the characters and their interior world. Her characters are multifaceted, and while the Italians are obviously the villains, the Ethiopian protagonists aren't simply thoroughly gallant and enlightened heroes, but deeply flawed (Aster) and occasionally criminal (Kidane) people. It also highlights the immense and important contribution of women in the fight against colonialism, especially in Ethiopia.

Spoiler

I also like that there isn't a romance or even some grand moment of understanding and forgiveness between Ettore and Hirut. Their situations are different and while he was definitely oppressed he was still a part of the attempted subjugation of her home country.

It's a great read and I would highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Death

wngwendy's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

review to come

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Xenophobia and Antisemitism

vaniavela's review

challenging dark informative 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, and Death

Minor: Death of parent

theres_claire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent

daisymaytwizell's review

challenging dark informative reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I listened to the audiobook of this, and while that helped me as a white person learn how to pronounce the names/places, I do think that with all the shifts in time and perspective it would be a much easier read with a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Antisemitism

Minor: Sexual violence

Mengiste has a fantastic balance between communicating the horrors of war, without making the descriptions gratuitous.

tabitha_isabelle's review

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence