Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

10 reviews

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

madelinequinne's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. It was very informative about the lives of black people in this day and age, and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I definitely recommend to anyone interested in reading about the experiences of black people in the modern world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

heybrownberry's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Ableism, and Gun violence

leahb88's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved the writing style of this collection and found the voice to change a bit, depending on who was narrating. Each story building on each other and the ways that they became connected as you read was super interesting. I found the stories to read as very introspective and kind of live within the minds of the characters, but taken together this collection is a reflection on the ways that Black bodies exist in society. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gun violence

ebonykashan's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Police brutality, Mental illness, and Death

foxowl2005's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Child abuse

auntleona's review

dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

balladofreadingqueer's review

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I listened to this audio book while driving the final stage of our journey in New Mexico and I really enjoyed it. 

This satirical book covers a lot of important and interesting themes such as police brutality, disability fetishisation, tokenism, competition between black women, the insidiousness of the white gaze and colourism.

The first story was interesting but very meta, it was a series of related vignettes with most of the action happening off screen and a self-aware narrator. My favourite stories were This Todd, the story of a woman who fetishises and diminishes the disabled men she dates by calling them all ‘Todd’ despite their criticism of her she lacks all self-awareness. Belle Lettres is 2 mothers writing each other petty letters via their daughters schoobags, a tense competition with the only 2 black girls in the grade. I also enjoyed Suicide, Watch a damning indictment of the impact of social media on young women. The main character wanting attention on social media writes a suicide note but did not intend to kill herself 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, and Racism

atsundarsingh's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a dark collection on modern Black interior life, and the experiences of being Black in America. I loved it. It's very haunting and much more macabre than I was expecting, but then again, maybe, given what I know of Black life in the present, I should have been prepared. Totally worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence

readerette's review

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I felt these were beautiful, human stories about the intersection of identity. They are mostly about daily suffering and trials, but not overly dark except perhaps the final story on the collection.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Mental illness

Minor: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence