Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

79 reviews

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.75

It is not easy to cover such a vast temporal space in a single book, so I recognize Gyasi's ability to tackle a story so big in scope. 
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging. 
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).

At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: War, Child abuse, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Ableism, Murder, Infertility, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Child death

travisppe's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Excrement, Hate crime, Infertility, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Addiction, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, War, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Genocide, Racism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, Violence, War, Pregnancy, Slavery, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, and Police brutality

shanapike's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Excrement, Drug abuse, Classism, War, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Infertility, Confinement, Blood, Colonisation, and Addiction

catwhisperer's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Excrement, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, War, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Trafficking, Vomit, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

waterbear0821's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a really beautiful book. It’s also brutal, but—particularly if you are a white American—don’t let that deter you. Sometimes fiction can make hard truths even more true and this book feels absolutely true. The story is told as one chapter for each character as you move generation by generation into the near present. At first it was a bit of a challenge because I felt like a was missing so much jumping over years (not to mention that it was, no spoiler warning needed I hope, incredibly violent and horrific because it’s about the slave trade). However, as I got into it, I found the generational snapshots to be very effective and more than sufficient for me to be invested in the characters. The writing is wonderful. The story is terrible and beautiful and, in the end, hopeful. Whether you know a lot or not much about the history of slavery in Africa and America and its lingering generational scars, highly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, Child death, Slavery, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, War, Torture, and Sexual violence

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't have words for how incredible Homegoing is. The blurb cannot do justice to the journey it takes you on. Two Ghanaian half-sisters with divergent paths (one as a wife to a white colonizer and slaver, the other captured and sold into slavery) is only the beginning. This book follows Effia and Esi's lineage for seven generations, one line primarily in Ghana and one line primarily in the United States. It is a sizzering, raw, unflinchingly honest depiction of the experience and the legacy of the slave trade, in all its awful minutia; the creation and the evolution of the systems that still oppress black people. Truly, I've never seen a clearer depiction of generational trauma. It's incredible. That's all I can say. Cannot recommend enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicide, Mental illness, and Ableism

Minor: Car accident and Medical content

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.5

✨ Thrifted ✨

The content warnings are below. 

My friend recommended this to me, and she has some great finds so I was excited for this one.

I read the reviews earlier on though, and someone wrote that it was challenging to invest in the stories because they would get very interesting, and then move onto the next POV very quickly, and I completely agree 🥺 
The stories were gorgeous and heartbreaking but I never felt like I got to know any of the characters only because we were going too quickly.

It’s a very luxurious perspective that I have though, I am aware of this 😳

All in all, I thought this book was beautiful and I really especially enjoyed Marjorie’s story at the end 🥹 I loved Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom more so am glad to have tried her first novel ✨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Slavery, Torture, Racism, and Rape

mondovertigo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• 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: Rape, Slavery, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Racism

Moderate: Excrement, Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Child death, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, Slavery, Confinement, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Vomit, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Kidnapping, Blood, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Torture, Homophobia, Rape, Abandonment, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content