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sterregeertsema's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I found the book difficult to understand which took away from my enjoyment of the book. However i do see that there is beauty in this book although it wasn’t the right fit for me. Also the repetition was at times a bit too much for me even tough it worked other times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and War
kers_tin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
luise96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.5
What an interesting read! The writing style felt really unique and immersive. However I wish I would have known a bit more before reading the book as it had some very dark parts, which I wasn‘t prepared for. All characters felt so real even though they are portrayed as animals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Rape
faduma's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eliodelio's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
animal farm if the animals had won but instead of a farm its an african country (and i think in this universe all people are animals, not just the people in the specific country, although i cant actually remember if that was ever mentioned).
i found the first half of the book quite slow, i think because it was more focused on the dictator and his inner circle and how they were ruling the country rather than the ordinary citizens of the nation and their struggles, which is what the second half was more about. it was interesting to imagine the behind-the-scenes of a dictatorship too, though; i've always wondered how they rationalise their actions and this helped understand it a bit better. in the second half the plot focuses more on a specific character and the people around her, all of them ordinary citizens in a village, as well as on the brewing revolution.
some things i wasnt a fan of: chapters showing public sentiment through tweets. it was a bit corny. im not really familiar with african twitter but to me the writing style didnt feel super authentic and it seemed like kind of a forced way to show conflicting opinions on politics etc among the citizens (as well as those who had left the country). i understood what the author was trying to do but i wasnt that satisfied with the execution.
kind of a small detail but it kept bugging me whenever it came up - race is a topic in this book, they often bring up how they are a black nation ruled by black people etc since they became independent from the white colonisers. what was never made clear though was how race works among animals - do the "black people" all have black fur? that doesnt really make sense to me. what race are orange cats? or ur classic black and white cows? or was the point just to illustrate the absurdity of race as a social construct? either way i feel like it could have been more clear.
other than that i did quite enjoy the book, it gave a lot of insight into how political systems often function outside of the imperial core and it was especially spooky reading it this close to the turkish elections.
i found the first half of the book quite slow, i think because it was more focused on the dictator and his inner circle and how they were ruling the country rather than the ordinary citizens of the nation and their struggles, which is what the second half was more about. it was interesting to imagine the behind-the-scenes of a dictatorship too, though; i've always wondered how they rationalise their actions and this helped understand it a bit better. in the second half the plot focuses more on a specific character and the people around her, all of them ordinary citizens in a village, as well as on the brewing revolution.
some things i wasnt a fan of: chapters showing public sentiment through tweets. it was a bit corny. im not really familiar with african twitter but to me the writing style didnt feel super authentic and it seemed like kind of a forced way to show conflicting opinions on politics etc among the citizens (as well as those who had left the country). i understood what the author was trying to do but i wasnt that satisfied with the execution.
kind of a small detail but it kept bugging me whenever it came up - race is a topic in this book, they often bring up how they are a black nation ruled by black people etc since they became independent from the white colonisers. what was never made clear though was how race works among animals - do the "black people" all have black fur? that doesnt really make sense to me. what race are orange cats? or ur classic black and white cows? or was the point just to illustrate the absurdity of race as a social construct? either way i feel like it could have been more clear.
other than that i did quite enjoy the book, it gave a lot of insight into how political systems often function outside of the imperial core and it was especially spooky reading it this close to the turkish elections.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
literaryscouser's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a fantastic journey to another world. The wider world is somewhat similar to our own, but the country of Jidada is built to be so realistic that as you read you will be so invested in these characters and places. I will say the first 1/3 is a bit of a slog, but power through because it comes to build background for what happens later and is so worth sticking with. To say this book is Orwellian, is fine but I worry it might take away all the aspects that makes this book unique and powerful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
sharpenedknives's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Classism
Minor: War
yeahnaar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The book’s content should induce anger and sadness, while also inspiring, but it is so badly executed that you feel very little while reading it. It feels like it was several different ideas mashed together without forethought. There are gripping, engaging moments throughout, but they are few and far between. I left the book feeling like I’ve gained nothing but lost time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Police brutality
foreverinastory's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Glory is an allegory of Animal Farm set in the historical background of the Zimbabwe revolution (1980s-2019). We follow various animals as they fills roles of historical figures and we see how dictatorship follows the patterns laid out in Orwell's fictional piece.
This was a very compelling and emotional story. I loved the way repetition and humor were used as tools in the narrative. The audiobook narrator (Chipo Chung) was absolutely incredible and brought a rhythm to the story with the way they repeated words with various intonations.
Bulawayo did a beautiful job of crafting this intricate historical fiction. I am glad I read this immediately following Animal Farm. Such an interesting juxtaposition. There were so many characters followed in this story, but I was most invested in Destiny's and my heart felt all the emotions. *insert tears*
Rep: All Zimbabwean cast.
CWs: Violence, genocide, war, rape, police brutality, murder, colonisation, death, gun violence, grief, misogyny, sexual assault, torture, blood, classism, sexual violence, religious bigotry, sexism, injury/injury detail, child death, gore, physical abuse, racism. Moderate: suicide (off-page action, on-page mention), xenophobia, mass shooting, death of parent, animal death, body horror, cursing, homophobia/homomisia, slavery, panic attacks, fire/fire injury, vomit.
This was a very compelling and emotional story. I loved the way repetition and humor were used as tools in the narrative. The audiobook narrator (Chipo Chung) was absolutely incredible and brought a rhythm to the story with the way they repeated words with various intonations.
Bulawayo did a beautiful job of crafting this intricate historical fiction. I am glad I read this immediately following Animal Farm. Such an interesting juxtaposition. There were so many characters followed in this story, but I was most invested in Destiny's and my heart felt all the emotions. *insert tears*
Rep: All Zimbabwean cast.
CWs: Violence, genocide, war, rape, police brutality, murder, colonisation, death, gun violence, grief, misogyny, sexual assault, torture, blood, classism, sexual violence, religious bigotry, sexism, injury/injury detail, child death, gore, physical abuse, racism. Moderate: suicide (off-page action, on-page mention), xenophobia, mass shooting, death of parent, animal death, body horror, cursing, homophobia/homomisia, slavery, panic attacks, fire/fire injury, vomit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and War
georgiarybanks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Blood, and War