Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

179 reviews

cassielaj's review

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has so much going on, and I still felt like I could’ve kept reading for 100 more pages because the writing is so beautiful. It is absolutely captivating. Beautifully written, informative, and engaging. It ties in major historical events with characters’ lives in a really impressive and effective way. It’s telling family history and American history at the same time, showing how they’re interconnected. It’s also expertly paced for such a long book. I love the jumping back and forth between timelines, connecting Ailey’s present and family history through her ancestral land. It’s horribly sad and challenging to read, but terribly important. And it has some uplifting moments as well. I really enjoyed reading about Ailey’s journey and the way everything connected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Death, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Hate crime, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Genocide, Infidelity, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Cursing

letmetakea_shelfie_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs

noteworthy_fiction's review against another edition

Should have read the content warnings first.  This book is VERY well written and I hope we get more from the author, but I cannot do 20 pages of child abuse in the middle of an already sad and trauma filled book that already included child abuse.  Reader beware!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abortion, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Body shaming

joensign's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Racism, Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Grief, Colonisation, and Toxic relationship

jesiareada's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Very detailed and you experience characters develop throughout time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual violence

pheyreads's review against another edition

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

5.0

Some books you read and some books you experience. This is the latter. The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois poured into me: themes, love, ideas, heartache, and inspiration. It’s a novel that’s left a mark on me. I don’t typically reread books because I’m so desperate to get to the next one on my eternal tbr, but I will be rereading this again and again throughout my life. This reminded me why I love to read. I felt so deeply for this fictional family and humanity as a whole. Honorée Jeffers gave nuance and complexity to all of her characters, even the most vile. They all felt like people. 
 I learned so much about our history and gained new revelations. It was very tough to read sometimes: the many instances/references to SA, characters I grew to love not getting a happy ending, cyclical mistakes etc. But the journey overall was beautiful and so special to me. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a genius and The Love Somgs of W.E.B Du Bois is a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Racism

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Drug abuse, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence

jxpx777's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content

all1thegr8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.5

A beautiful tale of one Black family’s lineage and a woman’s growth into fully understanding her roots. 

Incredible writing and storylines. Jeffers makes great use of 797 pages; although the book is certainly long, it’s length feels appropriate for the depth and vastness of its contents (creating meaningful storylines for over 300+ years of characters & discussing themes of their life is not easy!)

Think I will need significant time to digest this novel. While it’s depth and vastness can be an asset, these qualities can also make it difficult to discern critical takeways, at least immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Abortion, Infidelity, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Grief, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicide attempt

risqkae's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, Hate crime, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Slavery, Abortion, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Pedophilia