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salesforce'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
5.0
Also special shoutout to the edition I read (ISBN 9781400095209) which is excellently made. The pages are thin and flexible without being fragile and the book feels fantastic to flip through. Super easy to turn the pages and the cover feels good to hold and doesn't attract fingerprints. The cover art is also amazing.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and War
thomasdj's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
kalobar's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infertility
dezzella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall really well written. I liked how things ended and I am glad I tried a book outside my usual genre. If you're looking for historical fiction that has a more literary feel, I recommend this.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mirandahedvik's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
crazysecondname's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
and I still don't know how many stars I want to give...
but generally uff
what a book
first off all: I learned thinsg about nigeria I didn't know before and I am very grateful for that
and I did like the characters until they did certain things which made me extremely angry
so then I only liked ugwu.
and then page 366 happened. by that I liked olanna and richard and odenigbo again more or less. but ugwu? yeah i still hate him for that
and then he died and I was like oh come on. I hopehe suffered
and then he wasn't dead after all and I was like oh come on. but at least he also regretted it?? but still i hated reading about that part and felt it was very unnecessary.
i don't care that it's a war and people did that in reality. I don't want characters in books to do it. especially not when I liked them for 360 pages.
which i why I can't give this book 5 stars, but not giving it 5 stars feels wrong too?????idk man
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Infidelity and Rape
florenceassetto'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
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood 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
arayo's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Infertility, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy
dianaale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and War