Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

54 reviews

permanme's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide, Abortion, and Alcohol

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Abortion, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Police brutality and Religious bigotry

erilynne's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

So many beautiful parts to this narrative, and things that will stick with me.

There were many parts that were difficult to read because of the subject matter, but overall the book was hard to put down. The size is definitely intimidating, but for sure worth the read.

My only complaint is that the time jumps were confusing at times and I had a hard time remembering who was who when it switched back and forth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

ruffian23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

3littlewordz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

 “Even in a place of sorrow, time passes. Even in a place of joy." And so passes time in the Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. 

This book was perfect. Simply incredibly perfect. I’ve seen people in the book-osphere that have mentioned wanting to be able to read a book again for the first time, and this is one of those books. I already know that this epic novel is one of my top reads of all time. Yes, I’ve already called it. 

So many themes were explored in the centuries covered in this storyline: slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, the displacement and genocide of Indigenous people, sexual assault/incest, casual racism and racial terror, colorism (including passing), distrust, family secrets, drug addiction, segregation, life at an HBCU vs. PWI, the journey through academia as a black person…so many more. Another throughline explored beautifully was the Black American’s relationship to food, and how it could be both soothing and harmful. And of course, Du Bois!! His pen is razor-sharp and I absolutely love how the quotes at the beginning of each Song were so superbly chosen for that portion of the book. Ultimately, the strong family bonds wrapped me up like a warm, cozy blanket, even when the family dealt with strife and pain. 

Now, there are SEVERAL triggers in this book, and several themes mentioned above are explored in rather explicit detail. If you haven't yet started on the path to healing for those triggers (mainly sexual assault and abuse), some parts of this story may be too heavy for you. I finished some chapters and had to close my eyes and decompress. 

Jeffers' writing style is exquisite. I particularly enjoyed the historical anchors (beyond simple dates) included throughout the novel that oriented me to time and place. It's easy to tell that she's a poet by the phrasing and descriptions used throughout. Her world-building was so expansive and wonderfully done that I blinked and devoured 50-100 pages at a time. I actually read all except the very first chapter in 8 days - I didn't mind reading all 800 pages quickly! 

Simply put, read this book. And if you’ve already read this and are equally as enamored with this type of story as I am, I strongly recommend Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

vicktorea's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• 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

4.75

wow. a literal Black epic!

this was so fantastic! i loved the deep dive into Black history and learning the deep roots of the characters! i felt so deeply connected to them - i laughed with them, grieved with them, felt their anger and frustrations and also felt moments of anger and frustration towards them.

This was looong but everything was interwoven and came together beautifully! A very memorable read!

I listened to the audio for this via Hoopla and really enjoyed the narration!

I urge to check the CWs for this - there are many! Some of the most notable being: rape, (child/domestic/physical/emotional) abuse, /pedophilia/molestation, racism, slavery. The author does not shy away from depicting the realistic historical mistreatment of Black people (particularly young, Black, female slaves).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death

mayayandal's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

celesteleila's review against another edition

emotional 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

This book is the best book I ever read. This story was one that I wish I had had all my life. As a woman descended from the South, this book song to me, angered me, and drew tears from a faraway place in my soul. Jeffers is the kind of writer that knows how to paint a visual with her words and engross the reader with story. Love Songs soared through time effortlessly, sharing stories long lost waiting to be uncovered by the curious. This book, this story, this family …. timeless. Read it prepared to think, grieve and listen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

roasjeno's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Beautiful. Lyrical. Truly a masterpiece. Jeffers paints each character with such fine detail to convey these were and are real people; she challenges us to feel empathy for people we have been told are the past. I personally love intergenerational family sagas, and especially appreciated how these tales were woven into our main character’s research, as if we were following along with the author Jeffers as she researched for this novel. I’d say that this book is comparable in its scope and (potential) influence to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Márquez.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism