Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

36 reviews

mirandahedvik's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

florenceassetto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

this book was absolutely incredible, honestly one of the most impactful reads i have ever done. i have never connected with characters like i did here and i laughed for them and CRIED for them and hoped for them and it was so powerful. a must read for everyone i would recommend 100 times over

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Colonisation

fionafsw's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective sad fast-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

Fact and fiction blend, past and present blend, as I read about the Nigerian civil war next to BBC headlines and couldn't stop thinking about the indiscriminate misery and human suffering Israel has unleashed in its current war in Gaza. It is impossible in March 2024 to read about starvation and not be reminded that 1 in 6 children <2 years are acutely malnourished in Gaza, with dozens dying of dehydration and malnutrition. The sheer desperation of a population brought to its knees and then beaten while on the ground translates seamlessly from the late 1960s to this week.

There's not much more I can say about this powerful novel except that Adichie manages to weave humour throughout to help the reader get through the horrors of war and to present something so alien to readers like me who have had the dumb luck of knowing nothing but peacetime through an individual, human lens rather than statistics or political or military manoeuvres. And for readers like me who had no idea about Nigeria, her fantastic writing brought to life every smell, taste, and sensory input. 

But where the book really excels, I think, is in describing tension between individuals in the most subtle way that still makes it obvious. Tension (sexual and otherwise) that you could cut with a knife, as if you were there, in the room, as the protagonist. As Richard might say, it's really quite fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Grief and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

arayo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Infertility, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

vilde_a's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It took a couple of chapters to get really into, but a nice drive to keep going by like page 50. The different perspectives seems authentic and real. It’s interesting and thought provoking to read detailed descriptions about a war you didn’t even know happened. 

Read while listening to “Strømmer» by Hvalfugl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Grief, and War

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death and Colonisation

the_last_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity and Racial slurs

luisa42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racism and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism

ebun_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Colonisation

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism