Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Vända hem by Yaa Gyasi

31 reviews

asset_exe's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is a novel that portrays the unknown yet simple relation between Africans and African Americans. The story is illustrated through two sisters, both of whom know nothing of the other, and each birthing generations of people who represent the far past, near past and present. Effia, the sister left behind, is the genesis of the African royal lineage of Ghana, as portrayed in the novel, and takes us back to the pre-colonial African states, which were solely ran by Africans who held trading relationships with Europeans.

Her descendants' stories connect fiction to reality through the presentation of events such as the war of the golden stool (The Asante-British wars), Kwame-Nkrumah's victory to independence and modern day Ghana. Esa, on the other hand, is taken away by slave traders and traded to America as a slave. Her descendants' stories highlight the struggles/hardships that black Americans underwent during slavery, Jim Crow, and modern day USA. Through the two sides being connected yet very different, in terms of struggle and hardship, Gyasi is able to bring out the interconnection between Africans and African Americans and share the struggles that each black generation underwent due to a common denominator, white people.

. In her novel, Gyasi greatly provokes white supremacists by illustrating the torturous acts that were performed on these people. Alternatively, Gyasi also concludes how that while we were all disconnected at some point of our ancestral lives, African Americans and Africans are one in the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Homophobia, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Addiction, and Suicide

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

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

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

Plot: 5★
Prose: 4.5★
Pace: 5 ★
Concept/Execution: 5★/5★
Characters: 4.75★
Worldbuilding: 4.75★
Ending: 4.75★

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

lautreamont's review against another edition

reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

i loved the first 100 pages but then it started moving on soooo fast and like i get the idea behind it but i really wanted to dive more into each individual story to the point that it got a bit frustrating in the last 100 page

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: War

Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol

mx_sunshine's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, War, Abandonment, Bullying, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Trafficking

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Car accident and Suicide

jae_bird's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Slavery, Infidelity, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Blood, Colonisation, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Police brutality, Murder, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Drug abuse, Bullying, War, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Suicide, and Homophobia

crimelessvictim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Medical trauma, Rape, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Murder, Infidelity, Drug use, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Infertility, Grief, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, and Confinement

someonelikeblue's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Sexual assault, War, Child abuse, Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Excrement, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Infertility, Ableism, Gun violence, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Child death, Vomit, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Bullying, Mental illness, Abandonment, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Hate crime

lanid's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, War, Death, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Excrement, and Racial slurs