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cnord'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, and Transphobia
Minor: Animal death
brynalexa'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
micksland's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
This novel is emotional, dark, and cathartic. It contains several extremely violent and explicit passages which unfortunately relate to story spoilers, but please look up content warning if you choose to read it. It will rip your heart out. Fans of Shakspearean and Greek tragedies will love this modern equivalent.
I am convinced that Emezi's prose is some of the best in the English language. Each sentence is carefully placed and this short novel hits far above its page count. For example:
"Life was like being dragged through concrete in circles, wet and setting concrete that dried with each rotation of my unwilling body. As a child, I was light. It didn’t matter too much; I slid through it, and maybe it even felt like a game, like I was just playing in mud, like nothing about that slipperiness would ever change, not really. But then I got bigger and it started drying on me and eventually I turned into an uneven block, chipping and sparking on the hard ground, tearing off into painful chunks. I wanted to stay empty, like the eagle in the proverb, left to perch, my bones filled with air pockets, but heaviness found me and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t shake it off; I couldn’t transform it, evaporate or melt it. It was distinct from me, but it hooked itself into my body like a parasite. I couldn’t figure out if something was wrong with me or if this was just my life—if this was just how people felt, like concrete was dragging their flesh off their bones."
So, why not the full five stars? I was somewhat confused by the way that the narration was done. Sometimes it felt as if Vivek's ghost was commenting on the story, and sometimes it was written as if Vivek would have been commenting. It was almost like the novel could not decide if it was literary fiction or truly magical realism. Aside from that, just fantastic.
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death
michaelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Akwaeke Emezi, the person that you are. You've done it yet again. I can't wait to read all their books. They are truly amazing.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Confinement, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Vomit, Murder, and Abandonment
dreadspawn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry
katiemoonshep'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? N/A
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Transphobia
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Blood
kylosten's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Incest
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
sara_berlin'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
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Transphobia, and Death of parent
abitbetterbooks'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
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Transphobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Physical abuse