ktxx22's review against another edition
4.0
If you would like to have your heart cleaved in two over this love story between two young men who are slaves on a plantation in the early days of slavery this is the book for you. It’s absolutely beautifully written, but I warn you it’ll break your heart. I think this is one of those books that you have to sit on and think over for a while afterwards and I am still doing that with this book quite frequently.
thatsoneforthebooks's review against another edition
5.0
This was beautifully written and also terribly hard to read sometimes because of the layers of pain and trauma woven in. It took me a few tries to finish it, but wow. It made me think in new ways and marvel at the words he chose to communicate this story.
antidietleah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
rrickman33's review against another edition
4.0
The writing in this book was gorgeous. I did get lost in the writing a bit but I think it’s just me as others really enjoyed the story lines. Definitely recommend for a beautifully written story about love between two enslaved men.
maggiebrown's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
ambersiple's review against another edition
3.0
Deeply powerful and some of the best prose I've read in a long while. It was interesting to see into the lives of so many different people, especially when they live such similar lives, but there were almost too many to keep track of. By the end, I didn't feel strongly for any of them. There was a lot of filler, as well, which I felt I could have used less off. In all, beautiful and sorrowful, yet empowering and morbid.
jackthelad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
billienichole's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
ali_jenna's review against another edition
2.0
ok. so this book has a great premise and i was super excited to start it. the writing was beautiful and the characters were all interesting
this was all great
but omfg was this book dense
like the writing was good and the sentences were all pretty - but kind of too pretty like i needed just some simplicity to make this book more readable
i actually had to take a break from this book in the middle to read something else because i would just start falling asleep and i am so ashamed by that (to be fair while i was reading this were some of the busiest days of my life so...)
other than that it was good
it sort of felt like there were a few too many perspectives which took away a bit from the
this was all great
but omfg was this book dense
like the writing was good and the sentences were all pretty - but kind of too pretty like i needed just some simplicity to make this book more readable
i actually had to take a break from this book in the middle to read something else because i would just start falling asleep and i am so ashamed by that (to be fair while i was reading this were some of the busiest days of my life so...)
other than that it was good
it sort of felt like there were a few too many perspectives which took away a bit from the