Scan barcode
selimhannah's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Colonisation
fionafsw's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
There's not much more I can say about this powerful novel except that Adichie manages to weave humour throughout to help the reader get through the horrors of war and to present something so alien to readers like me who have had the dumb luck of knowing nothing but peacetime through an individual, human lens rather than statistics or political or military manoeuvres. And for readers like me who had no idea about Nigeria, her fantastic writing brought to life every smell, taste, and sensory input.
But where the book really excels, I think, is in describing tension between individuals in the most subtle way that still makes it obvious. Tension (sexual and otherwise) that you could cut with a knife, as if you were there, in the room, as the protagonist. As Richard might say, it's really quite fantastic.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Grief and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy
the_last_bookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity and Racial slurs
betag1013's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mimio_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
foxo_cube's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
I will start of by saying I know very little about the Nigerian civil war - this was my first time reading about it at all, but I am grateful that the author included a list of books she used as reference material because I am interested in reading non-fiction on the topic now.
The characters within this were, I think, brilliantly crafted. They were introduced, typically, with a basic set of traits, but develop into people who feel real: people with idiosyncracies, and prejudices they trip themselves up on, and fallibility. There are no wholly good or bad people, and the feelings characters have towards each other are often complex.
The interaction between small-scale, interpersonal drama and traumas and the big-scale social tensions is very well-balanced, I felt, and the responses to the horrors of the war (and pre-war massacres) shown by the characters feel thought-out.
The ending felt almost anti-climactic, I will say, but then I suppose that's pretty realistic too, isn't it?
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
iloche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
saravsw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Another problem I have, which is a personal thing and may not bother other readers, is the amount of sex. I have no problem reading about sex but if that is the only way that couples interact in the novel then I have a problem because then why should I care if
Graphic: Genocide and Rape
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
perfectphlaws's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
It was a well written book, but reminded me why I don't usually stray too far from romance. So much rape. War is ugly indeed, maybe I'll just read about it in the news rather than rehashing past horrors.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
meret's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Infertility, Blood, and Alcohol