Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

57 reviews

glorifiedloveletters's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-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

5.0

Reread this for a Bluesky book club and was not sorry I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, Violence, and Colonisation

wad3mil3sgarru2's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, and Suicide

asterixmj's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

I honestly think this is a very, very good book, and it got me thinking about my own culture before colonisation a lot. Its a curious thing, how Achebe depicts Christianity when not tied directly with colonialism, and I think you can tell that he grew up Christian. He doesn't describe the clan as a purely good clan, romanticising what once was before the arrival of the English, but instead he simply describes the Igbo culture from a neutral, outsider's perspectives. I would've loved to see more from Nwoye's perspective of things; it's really interesting to me how his struggles with his father reflected his struggles with the clan at large and let to him running away from them. Okonkwo is the personification of Umofia, I feel. When Okonkwo is great and strong (but stubborn, violent, and intimidating) so is Umofia, and when Okonkwo is weak, emancipated, and his previous strength turns into bash actions that lead nowhere, Umofia is about the same. His death makes a lot of sense to me; he's unable to cope with the death of his clan, with the death of "manliness" as he so calls it, I don't think its so much a stubbornness towards change, though that is definitely a factor, but more so an overwhelming grief of what he believes the White Man destroyed for him, although he, and by extent Umofia, by himself had shaky foundations that allowed the White Man to easily dismantle the community. A very good look to understand pre colonial Nigeria and the complexities that went into their colonisation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, and Xenophobia

queenofodas's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Not my cup of tea, I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

pikkumarja's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Kaikki hajoaa on hieno kirja. Se ei ole säälivä eikä rypevä, vaan tietyllä tavalla arkinen kertomus klaanista ja myöhemmin myös kolonialismista. Ymmärrän todella klassikkoaseman.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Torture and War

elisabeth888's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

olivessam's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I want someone to teach me how to cook yams 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Murder, and Colonisation

pmurph2112's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Suicide

slimshaedy92's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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

5.0

A classic, depressing but classic. Read this for (and at the end of) my class on Precolonial Africa which really helped me understand the cultural specifics and with that it’s a powerful story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Racism

miranda_coward03's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad fast-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Colonisation