hot_water's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
sad
tense
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
4.0
Graphic: War, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Excrement and Cancer
sarah984's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- 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
This was an interesting and heartbreaking novel about Jamaican soldiers who served on behalf of the British Empire during World War II, and the racism they faced both as a "different sort of Black" from American GIs and in England after the war.
The character voices were all unique and it was interesting to see the same situations from their different points of view. I docked a star because it started getting kind of melodramatic and silly near the end.
The character voices were all unique and it was interesting to see the same situations from their different points of view. I docked a star because it started getting kind of melodramatic and silly near the end.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, and Gun violence
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Excrement, Terminal illness, and Incest
I marked incest here because there is a character who is in love with her second cousin and spends a significant portion of the novel obsessing over him, but nothing much actually happens between them.
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