Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

10 reviews

georgiesutton's review against another edition

2.0

I was disappointed because I thought the premise of the book was really cool and it didn't live up to that expectation. I found the book confusing, jumping between times and even within chapters the story seemed to flit about. A lot of the book I wasn't entirely sure what was going on which is fine sometimes when things are revealed but this was just plain confusing. Reveals or revelations were lost on me so I was still confused after things seemed like they were meant to be explained. 
Whilst 'womens lit' is not normally a term I think is helpful this is a 'boy book' with explosions, sex, lack of emotion (other than horniness). None of our characters are likable because they are either unpleasant or too secretive. 
I nearly DNFed but wanted to see if it got better. I should have DNFed after the first 100 pages. 
It was interesting to read a sci fi book in Nigeria, but for the near future I thought there could have been more imagination than just aliens. It seemed there had been no progress in 30-40 years which I think is just a bit boring. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I struggled on the rating for this one.  It has a non-linear structure, as we flash back and forth in the main protagonist Kaaro's life.  I really liked that and how it slowly let the mystery and the world building unfold.  I liked the setting in Nigeria, the city of Rosewater, the mysterious alien dome, and Kaaro's and the other sensitive's powers to see into people's minds.  There are a lot of interesting plot threads at play here, Kaaro's powers, the xenosphere, Aminat's brother, the dome itself...  However, Kaaro is not a likable character (tbf, everyone in the book, even Kaaro, seems to know this, but personally for me, I find that more challenging in a book); he is obsessed with sex and objectifies nearly every woman and wants to have sex with them.  Kaaro's relationship with Aminat feels insta-lovey, and why would she even like him?  The revelation that someone is killing the sensitives doesn't happen until halfway through the book, and I felt that is should have come sooner to amp up the urgency of the story.  Lastly, I might be alone in this going by other reviews, but I thought the end was a let down, even knowing that this is a trilogy.  I was surprised that was all there was to the book's climax; I was surprised the book was over, as it felt very abrupt.  I was expecting more.  Overall though, I really did enjoy the book and would recommend it.  I hope to read the sequels.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

maricasement's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I have conflicted feelings about this book. I went into it knowing only what was written on the blurb and was really excited for the story. The story is told in first person and as the main character (Kaaro) was introduced I got even more excited because I thought they were an interesting, if a bit misogynistic, female character. Alas, Kaaro turned out to be an arrogant and irritating misogynistic male character. My dislike for him was increased by being immersed in his inner thoughts and his obliviousness to his faults. However, I do understand why the author made the choice to use the first person perspective as it becomes more relevant and important in setting the scene as the book progresses.
Because of my dislike for Kaaro, the first half of the book dragged. There was a lot being set up at the start as well, and this meant that the book took a while to grip me. Once the book revealed an awareness of Kaaro's faults and the mystery started to take shape, I started enjoying the book a bit more. Don't get me wrong, Kaaro is still a character I dislike, but the other (female) characters, the plot and the world building now have me hooked.
I will probably read the next in the series, as it seems to be told from a different character's perspective and I would love to learn more about the world Tade Thompson has crafted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Vomit, and War

adamjeffson's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Blood, and Vomit

therainbowshelf's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The world building is excellent. I liked the shared mindspace created by alien fungus and enjoyed the book being set in Nigeria. The plot lost me a few times, but that's mostly because it was hard following the time jumps (between audio and the way I tend to process information). The side characters needed more characterization. I kept forgetting which woman was which. I did enjoy when one character told Kaaro that a woman in his life wasn’t a side character in his story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, and Alcohol

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

This book was super interesting! I had a weird experience reading it because I did so very slowly and deliberately, which is unusual for me. It was somewhat dark and not entirely what I expected. But I hope to read the rest of the trilogy eventually!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Car accident, Colonisation, and War

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a really unique alien invasion story set in Nigeria in the 2060s, in a city that has built up around an alien biodome that mysteriously heals the sick once per year. The alien has also released a sort of spore into the atmosphere that allows some people to access special abilities like mind reading. The main character is a psychic who (mostly unwillingly) works for the government. His perspective is awful because he's an immature misogynist, but the story itself and the nature of colonization that it exposes are interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Cannibalism

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm waffling between a 3.5 and a 4 ⭐s on this one. It is a fascinating and wholly original start to a sci-fi series set in Nigeria and following a biological alien lifeform that changes the makeup of Earth itself???? And then there's like people with telepathic powers???? And spy stuff???? And government conspiracies???? And I loved it???? The writing style was definitely different, it took a bit for me to get used to it. Also our MC is not the most likeable of bros. But overall, I enjoyed this immensely and will be continuing the series and reading more from Tade Thompson.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

emtur007's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Vomit