Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan

9 reviews

stellarstar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

4.5

Brilliantly written, disappointing ending. Would have preferred more clarity. Ending is rather abrupt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence, Trafficking, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Cursing, Sexism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

Minor: Addiction, Injury/injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Eating disorder

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.75

You ever love someone so much you INVENT AQUARIUMS TO IMPRESS HER? It was a good read but it felt a little hard to care deeply about the characters, or maybe it's just that they were all kind of blunt straightforward people. After the narrative left Faith, I don't recall any other people of color getting very much characterization (the guides in the Arctic, any other Freemen in Nova Scotia, Titch's new assistant).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Cursing, Racial slurs, Blood, Grief, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Racism, Slavery, and Suicide

erynelle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Racism, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, and Suicide

emilily's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Classism, and Slavery

thenonbinaryc's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Slavery, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, and Suicide

reading_rainbows's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Injury/injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Child abuse, and Death

gwendolynaudrey_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-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? Yes

4.75

So close to a 5 star for me -- the ending was a little disheartening and honestly, confusing. The rest of the book is an amazing depiction of the realities of slavery, through the eyes of an "exceptional" young boy who escapes slavery and forges an uncertain life as an illustrator among academics and scientists. Adventurous and globe trotting. Fellow white people -- read this to understand how a "savior complex" does not rid you of the evils of the institution. Washington, the main character, is exceptionally loveable. The prose is beautiful and heart wrenching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Child abuse

annieliz's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, and Vomit

rachel_smyth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

This was an original, exciting and powerful read which effectively tackled many difficult topics. The character and plot development are convincing and kept me coming back for more. While there is a slow start, the plot soon picks up and is definitely worth the wait. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Moderate: Colonisation and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty and Bullying