Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

141 reviews

denijaaa_s's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Addiction, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Racism, Colonisation, Rape, and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Confinement, and Death of parent

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

joppiereading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

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

4.5

A beautiful collection of narratives and memories, of how a trauma crosses the boundaries of generations and how the way it’s dealt with matters. As is often the case with short story collections, though, that not all chapters sparked as much to me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Deportation, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Abortion, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Murder, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

eve_kadou's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Hate crime

sjhowe's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Sexual assault, and Racism

blessingo's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

3.5

An all-encompassing scope of a Ghanaian lineage from the 1700s to–what I assume is 2016—Gyasi's novel reckons with slavery and colonialsm and the implications of these all in modern times. I loved stories like Esi's for how brutal and direct they were. 

To see Gyasi's timeline of fire, arrest, and the black ember of hardships that tied them all together was simply beautiful. Gyasi's at times poetic and sweeping style of writing makes this book an even more worthwhile read. 

I loved this book as a fellow Ghanaian! I gave this book a lesser rating because some of the content here was very graphic. This is just my preference, however. But if you can deal with things such as sexual abuse and the abominations of slavery (which I suggest that you should be somewhat aware of and knowledgeable about before reading this book), I believe that this is a strong, informative tale on our lineage and how it affects all of us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, War, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, and Cursing

ahager11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and War

hannahbailey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Child death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Slavery, War, Kidnapping, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Bullying, Mental illness, Grief, and Deportation

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

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