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Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
23 reviews
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Having read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, a lot of the plot points of this book were familiar. If you haven't learned much about the Antebellum South, this could be quite rough going. As a historian (main character) Ailey Pearl Garfield is often shaken, and moved to tears, by the accounts she unearths about happenings in her family's past.
This story is nuanced, and the characters feel like people rather than archetypes. Weaving a history filled with trauma would be pretty much impossible without some levity and there is a lot of dialogue that lightens the mood. Some of the humour is utterly hilarious and there are often call-backs to information about minor characters that pepper the backstory with shared in-jokes and form a real sense of this family inhabiting a rich world and community. There are a couple of LGBT characters in the story, and a family history of Dyslexia which becomes apparent as Ailey digs deeper into her family's story.
I could write an entire page to describe the content warnings... but I won't. Let's just say that Racism is the tip of a horrible, bloody iceberg, and that genocide, sexual abuse, physical abuse, suicide, drug addiction, miscarriage, gaslighting and oppression of various forms are all in this book. It's a big book.. there are a lot of words.. and not all of it is pretty.
The Audiobook is beautifully narrated by 3 different voice talents, and the story spans several different timelines, so if you are "reading" by Audiobook it's a good idea to download the supplemental material that lists the genealogy of the family, so you don't get lost.
Thoroughly recommend this book. I found myself really excited by some revelations near the end and more than once I got body chills and frisson from emotionally resonant bits. This would be a great bookclub read if you have people who read at about the same pace, and don't mind tomes that exceed 800 pages.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
rustynailsfullset's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
jennikreads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
adina_zeling's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Trafficking
Minor: Infidelity and Suicide attempt
plottwisttravels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
etl's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Cultural appropriation
carmenvillaman's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
charleshasalibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
nyssbomb's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Lesbophobia