hollybearhouck's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Grief, and Child death
citrusboombox's review
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
laney_reads_22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Spoiler
Following her kidnap, school girl Maryam is taken, along with her female classmates to a war camp where they serve as "bush wives" to the extremists waging war over Nigeria. Horrifically abused and subject to religious conversation therapy, Maryam is married to a soldier and falls pregnant. Shortly after giving birth to her daughter, the camp falls under attack by the military and Maryam escapes with her baby and friend. A large section of the book is then dedicated to their journey, before she returns home to find that her father and brother are dead and her mother is shamed by her. All of this should make for a heart wrenching read but some of the most important moments are almost skipped over! Particularly one scene, where the friend she escapes with dies and under extreme hunger and not having seen any other people for weeks, she decides to leave her baby to drown (although seemingly there was no water anywhere as it consistently mentions their thirst???). Literally in the next sentence, the baby is returned to her by some random nomads. The whole thing was utterly bizarre.Graphic: War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, and Kidnapping
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Colonisation
knkoch's review
2.0
I found this book very challenging. I went in not knowing its subject manner (I usually do this to preserve surprise and discovery), but this was a bit more than shocking to dive into unaware. I proceeded through it very quickly because of the sheer brutality and unimaginable horror of the events Maryam goes through; I wanted to get through it rapidly without lingering. I really wanted to stop reading it at several points, but forced myself to finish.
I'm torn about books like this. On the one hand, it's so important to bear witness to subjects and stories like this because I am in a privileged position simply by being shielded from such horrific adversity by the country of my birth. Even so, it's painful to the point of being damaging. Knowledge of the depths of human depravity (in this case, kidnap, rape, and dehumanization) can take a toll on anyone, and despair does not necessarily lead to change. It's important that fully half of this book is about afterwards; after Maryam is "free", she is still not usually safe, loved, welcomed home, or taken care of. Relief is ambiguous, treacherous, and at best temporary. There's a fascinating scene in the middle where the media and national government celebrate her "freedom" and return in a press conference, and the book grapples with this uneasy balance: powerful figures allude to her suffering, but are uninterested (or unable to support Maryam sufficiently for her eventually divulge) the true, horrible details of her suffering.
This is not a first person narrative, nor was it written by a Nigerian woman who was taken. Edna O'Brien is a white Irish author who researched this experience, traveled to Nigeria, and interviewed several survivors, according to her acknowledgements. I haven't yet looked into commentary outside her take there yet, but it's just worth stating.
I don't think I'd be able to read this again, but heck, I finished it. I stopped partway through Half of a Yellow Sun for the same sort of content that made this difficult to read. I don't say that to imply that muscling my way through this, when I couldn't get through the other, is an improvement. I was deeply emotionally affected by Half of a Yellow Sun, and couldn't bear the pain of its content. I think, having had that experience, I purposefully did not emotionally connect to this as much. I'm trying to hold this as knowledge of the world and experiences others have had to keep a little more distance.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Confinement, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry
This is about as tough as it can get, for a story of war, kidnapping, human trafficking, and rape. See subject matter and be duly warned.jenmachin_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: War, Death, Misogyny, Child abuse, Rape, Violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
victoriaj's review
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Kidnapping, War, Violence, and Sexual violence
tree_hugging_ginge'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? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
waybeyondblue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy
panicked_llama's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, and Child abuse