Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

16 reviews

archie_dermott's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Islamophobia and Religious bigotry

thomasdj's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Death

Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

florenceassetto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

this book was absolutely incredible, honestly one of the most impactful reads i have ever done. i have never connected with characters like i did here and i laughed for them and CRIED for them and hoped for them and it was so powerful. a must read for everyone i would recommend 100 times over

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood and Colonisation

fionafsw's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Fact and fiction blend, past and present blend, as I read about the Nigerian civil war next to BBC headlines and couldn't stop thinking about the indiscriminate misery and human suffering Israel has unleashed in its current war in Gaza. It is impossible in March 2024 to read about starvation and not be reminded that 1 in 6 children <2 years are acutely malnourished in Gaza, with dozens dying of dehydration and malnutrition. The sheer desperation of a population brought to its knees and then beaten while on the ground translates seamlessly from the late 1960s to this week.

There's not much more I can say about this powerful novel except that Adichie manages to weave humour throughout to help the reader get through the horrors of war and to present something so alien to readers like me who have had the dumb luck of knowing nothing but peacetime through an individual, human lens rather than statistics or political or military manoeuvres. And for readers like me who had no idea about Nigeria, her fantastic writing brought to life every smell, taste, and sensory input. 

But where the book really excels, I think, is in describing tension between individuals in the most subtle way that still makes it obvious. Tension (sexual and otherwise) that you could cut with a knife, as if you were there, in the room, as the protagonist. As Richard might say, it's really quite fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Grief and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

arayo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Infertility, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death and Colonisation

eelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

ebun_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Colonisation

mrslindseypruitt's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Infidelity, Rape, Excrement, and Police brutality

exist0ni's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail