Scan barcode
lizetteratura's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Rape
fieldofhats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This was one of the more entertaining and exciting texts I have read for my Brit Lit class, though I don’t feel comfortable giving it more than 2 stars. I think this may have been very progressive for the early 18th century, but it’s very racist in the modern sense, which is uncomfortable at the very least. Oroonoko is constantly praised for his western features and interests, and it’s implied that he’s only beautiful because of that. And, through a series of nonsensical contrivances, he is “forced” to kill his wife and then brutally torture himself in a fit of insanity, before he is eventually put to death. This was one of the worst endings I have ever read in a book, period. Aphra Behn was going for an honor-bound duty-or-death type of thing, but it didn’t work because it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t need to kill his wife (or himself, though that’s at least a common literary theme) to take revenge. One might say that this is just a product of its time and that this is how all premodern literature is, but I call bullshit on that. In the literary world Shakespeare, the King Arthur myths, The Canterbury Tales, etc., this was just plain bad.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Cultural appropriation
question47's review against another edition
- 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
0.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- 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
The story is a very graphic depiction of an enslaved person's life on a plantation in the 1680s. And you get a cross section of everything that comes with that. The last third is especially difficult to get through. From a purely academic perspective, it's a good representation of early white supremacy, colonialism, slavery, the slave trade, racism, bigotry, misogyny, etc. And all within just sixty pages.
Don't read this book if you don't have to.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mariekeroos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
lquel's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy