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podanotherjessi's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-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
4.75
This was a book I fell in love with in stages.
For the first half of the book, I loved the themes being explored (gentrification, white flight, racial injustice in a myriad of ways, community), but I wasn't sure whether there was more there for me. It felt like we weren't really getting to know the characters well enough to be attached. The plot was too confusing and disjointed for me to follow. But I've been pulled through Onyebuchi's stories before on themes alone, and while I was wary of that working for a full novel, I was intrigued.
Moving into the second half, Onyebuchi opens the world to us. We start to see how it got to the state it's in. What happened in the near future to cause the mass exodus. And it's HARD to read. He shines a mirror on right here, right now and it's not hard to imagine things following the path he describes. So I got pulled in by this world to see more, to hope just a little about how things could be turned around.
And then suddenly, I was caring about the characters, and I'm not sure how it happened. There's a moment around 80% where I found myself unexpectedly crying over someone. From there, it was like it all just opened up, and I was attached. I cared about each of the characters and wanted to see them happy even when I knew it was likely impossible.
The plot is definitely still the weakest part of this book, but I don't think that was ever the point. It comes together and makes sense by the end, but by the end you don't really care about that any more.
As a side note, I really recommend the audiobook. There's a different reader for each perspective which both makes everything a little bit easier to follow and really immerses you in the story.
For the first half of the book, I loved the themes being explored (gentrification, white flight, racial injustice in a myriad of ways, community), but I wasn't sure whether there was more there for me. It felt like we weren't really getting to know the characters well enough to be attached. The plot was too confusing and disjointed for me to follow. But I've been pulled through Onyebuchi's stories before on themes alone, and while I was wary of that working for a full novel, I was intrigued.
Moving into the second half, Onyebuchi opens the world to us. We start to see how it got to the state it's in. What happened in the near future to cause the mass exodus. And it's HARD to read. He shines a mirror on right here, right now and it's not hard to imagine things following the path he describes. So I got pulled in by this world to see more, to hope just a little about how things could be turned around.
And then suddenly, I was caring about the characters, and I'm not sure how it happened. There's a moment around 80% where I found myself unexpectedly crying over someone. From there, it was like it all just opened up, and I was attached. I cared about each of the characters and wanted to see them happy even when I knew it was likely impossible.
The plot is definitely still the weakest part of this book, but I don't think that was ever the point. It comes together and makes sense by the end, but by the end you don't really care about that any more.
As a side note, I really recommend the audiobook. There's a different reader for each perspective which both makes everything a little bit easier to follow and really immerses you in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death and Grief
city_girl_writer's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I gave the audiobook another chance since the first time I was really busy while listening. This time around...the audiobook came in clutch! I am not sure what to say to be honest. It is a slow read, so you have to come in with patience and allow the story to guide you. Even though it is not a favorite, I will definitely read more from Tochi Onyebuchi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gun violence
alysounbookish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
anigoose's review
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
This took me a little time to fall in love with it, one of those - I've been burned too many times by novels that promise they can deliver the multi-narrative-non-linear experience - kind of things. But by Winter, I was fully convinced it wasn't going to let me down and I got to relax into just... absorbing it. Onyebuchi is incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
jennikreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
3.75
This is a tough one for me. I got a lot out of this book and I think it has a lot to say, but i didn't enjoy reading this at all. It was hard to read and a little too close to the bone at times, but it really does highlight how a lot of the things were are dealing with in terms of race and class if left unchecked will only worsen and intensify. Climate change and the exodus from earth and how those things are experienced differently across race and class is brought into stark relief in this book. As i said, a lot to unpack here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Classism
jackelz's review
dark
Imagine it. It’s year 20XX. You have to walk around wearing a mask because the air is radioactive/carcinogenic. All the white rich people have f*cked off to space. It doesn’t seem so far off from our current reality.
Goliath critically engages with racism (including environmental racism), police violence, gentrification, the prison system, and climate crisis as those still living on Earth suffer from resource scarcity and illnesses caused by pollution.
Jonathan and his lover, David, return from space and find a place they want to fix up for themselves, inevitably participating in a post-apocalyptic form of gentrification, as more folks start taking over the houses of Black people.
Linc, a Black worker, earns a living by salvaging from old houses and stacking the bricks that will be sent to the space colony.
The narrative moves from one point of view to another, from the white returnees to the Black workers, weaving in stories of their pasts. About halfway through, though, it completely switches to two other perspectives and it threw me off at first. One is a sort of interview that details a man’s life up to the 2050’s, mixed with current (to us) events and situations he finds himself in. The other is told from the perspective of a white supremacist neo-confederate soldier on the run from a U.S. Marshall.
This book was definitely a journey, and one that I appreciated. Take your time with this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
buntatamilis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence
laurareads87's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Goliath is the first 2022 release I've read - I'd preordered it, having appreciated Onyebuchi's Riot Baby as well as his short fiction + interview in Short Story Club. Goliath is ambitious, far-reaching, relevant, and, as others have written in their reviews, urgent.
Goliath is a non-linear multi-POV novel that follows a range of characters living in the 2050s; Earth is heavily polluted, and many of the wealthy have departed to space stations where they continue to extract resources from the planet they poisoned. Those still living on Earth navigate imposed resource scarcity, illnesses caused by pollution, and precarious infrastructure. Goliath critically engages with racism (including environmental racism), economic exploitation, police violence, and climate crisis, and in these respects it can be a challenging read, but it is far from all despair: there is joy here, humour, community. I suspect Goliath will be one of the absolute best standout sci-fi works of the year -- highly, highly recommend.
Goliath is a non-linear multi-POV novel that follows a range of characters living in the 2050s; Earth is heavily polluted, and many of the wealthy have departed to space stations where they continue to extract resources from the planet they poisoned. Those still living on Earth navigate imposed resource scarcity, illnesses caused by pollution, and precarious infrastructure. Goliath critically engages with racism (including environmental racism), economic exploitation, police violence, and climate crisis, and in these respects it can be a challenging read, but it is far from all despair: there is joy here, humour, community. I suspect Goliath will be one of the absolute best standout sci-fi works of the year -- highly, highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
blackmetalblackheart's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Goliath is not an easy read. Onyebuchi takes his time with weaving all the pieces of the story together, and he leaves it up to the reader to fully map out what this near apocalyptic future looks like. That being said, Goliath is a book that has a big pay off by the end. It is intelligent, deep, political, brutal, beautiful, and honest all mixed together. I can see why some people will bounce early on with this book, but for those readers who do not mind a little hard work. stick with it. It is worth it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Vomit
littlehibou7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Sexual content, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Classism