Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

7 reviews

sproutedpages's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Blood

ess_x's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

I must say as a Black, queer person myself, I am touched. I did not know that this book existed at all until a friend gifted it to me for Christmas in 2022. It took me a while to get to it, but I am glad that I did so. I see myself a lot in her. I’m pretty sure a lot of Black LGBTQ+ people will. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Abandonment

jessthanthree's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, and Colonisation

morimyths's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War

fareehareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This Afro-futurist vampire novel is way more than it appears and is easily my favorite read of 2022. Not only is it the best vampire depiction I have ever read, it also calls for you to look within and ask what does a community look like in the face of human caused devastation? Also, what would you do if given the chance at eternity? The story begins with a girl that grew up on a plantation and runs away, finding herself at a woman-run brothel and in the company of a pair of vampires that become her maternal figures. Each chapter jumps forward in time across the 200 years in her life as we watch Gilda adjust and adapt with each time period. A deep connection to the land is interwoven in the foundation of this story through Gilda's intimate relationship with the character Bird of the Lakota people, and through the physical carrying of soil of her homeland everywhere she goes. She meets various black queer women that shape her life along the way and we get the most tender found family of vampires I've seen in a long time. One of my favorite aspects of the vampire elements in this story is the ingestion of blood. Instead of it being a violent act that leaves the victim drained and lifeless, this story calls the exchange a 'sharing of life' where the vampire takes the human's blood and, in exchange, the human gets to dream out the deepest desires and is left dazed but alive. It's a fantastic book to pick up now and the 2020 predictions from when it was written (1991) are startlingly close to what we've experienced. I wonder how many of the 2050 predictions will come to pass. This story has literally everything you could want and to me, is an instant classic. PLEASE do yourself a favor and read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Abandonment

Minor: Death and Suicide attempt

The 25th anniversary collection contains an updated note about the predictions of The Gilda Stories, and quotes from Audre Lorde texts which were influential in Jewelle's work. I highly recommend looking.

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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

3.5

 - THE GILDA STORIES is an expansive, meditative exploration of found family, womanhood, and Blackness told through the story of Gilda, a young Black lesbian vampire, as she lives through the centuries.
- It took me a bit to get into this story, as I often find older novels keep the characters at a bit of a remove for my tastes. But once I got a handle on it, I was invested in Gilda and her search for a place and people to belong with.
- It reminded me quite a bit of Octavia E. Butler's work, not just for the vampire parallels to FLEDGLING, but also for the considerations of complex relationships and families as characters navigate new situations and realities. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

stormywolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

 Breaking out of my reading slump to read last month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club proved to be no easy feat. Unfortunately, my library did not carry the audiobook, and it turned out I had other obligations the night of the meeting. Luckily I found a copy of the audio online, and, as always, the book club meetings are saved for posterity, so while I wasn't there for the live discussion, I was able to participate in some ways (unlike the previous month's when my library didn't even carry a text copy for The Silver Kiss). And though I'd never heard of this book before the club picked it out, the premise seemed especially intriguing and I was eager to experience it. Let me just say, wow.

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, this book will undoubtedly sit with me for quite sometime. From the characters, to the settings, to the long and tumultuous journey of self-discovery, I was wholly invested. The exploration of life, and what it means to live and love from the perspective of an outsider, along with powerful depictions of struggling to choose what's best for yourself and for those around you, even if that means starting over, were what impacted me the most. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, books featuring BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+ main characters, empowering women, Afrofuturism, or just a fresh, new take on vampires—even hailing from 30 years ago! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation