Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

5 reviews

lachy13's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia

apthompson's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

kenopedidntthinkso's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

bookdragon217's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

"There is an unspoken understanding of loss here in Jamaica, where everything comes with a rude bargain—that being citizens of a 'developing nation', we are born already expecting to live a secondhand life, and to enjoy it. But there is hope, too, in our scarcity, tolerable because it keeps us constantly reaching for something better." 

There are not enough words to describe the beauty that is found within the pages of How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. She cracks herself open to show us the deep roots of her family trauma but still manages to hold the ones she loves tenderly with her poetic prose.  Her words are captivating & in true poet form, she delivers magical sentences that dance off the page & stick with you. She interrogates the misogyny of the Rastafarian lifestyle her father subjected their family to while at the same time connecting it to the history of colonialism in Jamaica. She calls out the mental abuse she was subjected to but also gives greater context & explanation about how her father could also be viewed as vulnerable to a corrupt system that is fueled by patriarchy. 

What struck me deeply was how Sinclair explores such deep themes through a child's perspective. She places us in her stream of conscience and allows us to see her observations and how she comes to make sense of her world in order to save herself. You see Sinclair develop an astute emotional intelligence that allowed her to survive her circumstances on a daily basis. Sinclair's mother offers poetry & literature as a form of liberation & this was so beautiful to see, especially since her own choices were limited by her own father. The books she read opened doors to understanding the world & provided the keys to free herself from her circumstances. This act of love from her mother is what ultimately helps her find her voice in the midst of chaos. 

I can still feel the power of Sinclair's narrative voice. This memoir is not only a testimony but an indictment on the systems of oppression that enforce & perpetuate patriarchy. It also serves a reminder that the consequences of colonialism are still being felt today. Sinclair is an author to watch in the future.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, and Classism