Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

17 reviews

dilara2912w'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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

indiaabb's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, and Alcohol

elinthenilsson's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War

areadingstan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book absolutely floored me. I didn’t know much about the Nigerian-Biafran war when I started this, but I feel like I’ve learned so much from the story of the characters Adichie has crafted. 

While it is a fictional story, I think one of the most effective ways we can make history more humane and increase our empathy with those who have lived and suffered through it, is to explore personal stories rather than just the facts. 

I felt really connected and attached to all of the characters, and the movement from early sixties to late sixties is really effective at showing the differences between before and during the war. Adichie doesn’t shy away from being political as well, by highlighting the complicity of the British in this war.

An incredible book that will be with me for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

rebeccaloveless's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Grief

erenreads12's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does not disappoint with this book. The high expectations I had for this after reading Americanah were well and truly met. What started off as a gentle, intimate account of life in 60s Nigeria became a horrifying, tragic, brutal portrayal of the civil war, inspecting closely the ways we carry war inside of us when it is happening around us. The ending, through lacking the closure one would normally expect from a novel, drove home the very point - there is no closure in war, or happy endings. I deducted .5 of a star simply because I saw some of the betrayal plotinus coming - but it was nowhere near enough to ruin the experience. This is a hugely important and heartbreaking book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Blood

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

Note: I had the displeasure of finding out about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's particular brand of trans-exclusionary feminism shortly after finishing this book. With that in mind, I will not be supporting her work in the future. Trans women are women. 

4.5 ⭐s. I can definitely see why this is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's award-winning-est (is that a word?) work. Not only did I enjoy this immensely just from a writing perspective - the characters, plot, world-building, symbolism, narrative devices, all flawless - I also learned so much about an aspect of history that I was relatively clueless about up until this reading. This book is unflinching, and subsequently has trigger warnings for just about every trigger on the books, but it is a very impactful, emotional, and educational read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder