Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Jente, kvinne, annet by Bernardine Evaristo

346 reviews

zulliekinz's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.5

A beautiful book, a stellar collection of stories and an true exploration into the lives of women, girls and others. It was emotional and touched on so many themes throughout - some were so deep it took a while to get through but each was done with care and consideration and worked to celebrate whilst also understanding and navigating the difficult life of a variety of black, mixed women and a non-binary individual. I bloody loved it!!

Okay, so why not 5 stars? It may have been a weakness on my part but sometimes keeping up with the links took a little more work that I would have liked. But maybe that was something Evaristo was wanting us to do...work for it. 

At the same time, whilst at the start I was HOOKED, somewhere in the middle I began losing links and wondering if there was an unnecessary layer of hype that was stopping me from falling completely in love. <Spoiler>However I find the way the epilogue ties it all together was so powerful, it answered my unanswered questions and had me crying. Getting to the end confirmed it was all love from me to this book..

No one can deny what an excellent read this was. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Miscarriage, and Rape

Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Xenophobia and Slavery

jdrosario_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

although the way it’s written (no caps and no full stops) took a bit of time to get used to and i considered stopping, i’m glad i didn’t!! this book takes you through decades of cultural change for black women and black people in general - i love how the characters were all subtly intertwined, although i gave it 4 stars mainly because i found it a bit difficult to keep track of everyone and who was related to who and all that jazz, but overall it was very informative and really interesting. it takes the first chapter to properly get into, but it’s worth it!!! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Racism, Rape, and Sexism

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug use, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Rape, Slavery, Sexism, Sexual content, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Deadnaming

Minor: Cancer, Physical abuse, Abortion, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Addiction, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

helfire124's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed the interconected stories of these british people. I'd love a chart with all the relationahip dynamics

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Homophobia, Animal death, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Physical abuse

lucille_c's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Grief, Drug use, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Transphobia

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Cancer, War, and Slavery

mcklusky's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Rape

emily_galloway's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was incredible. I love the authors writing style, read almost like poetry at points. I was hooked and loved how each story had some link to another, intertwining these women in small ways. 

This story is so smart. Incredible. 

I cried a few times throughout and would recommend reading trigger warnings however. It's pretty intense in parts. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Addiction, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Drug use, and Infertility

augie_'s review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Drug use, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Rape, and Racism

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

The stories in this book are captivating, and Evaristo’s writing style is unlike anything I’ve ever read. I was intimidated by the poetic style at first, but the language in this book flows so easily and beautifully. In each chapter, Evaristo explores the background and internal thoughts of a new character and achieves a depth to each story that’s truly impressive. Seeing the ways in which these characters’ stories are woven together, whether through familial history, friendships, relationships or simply proximity, was amazing, and it was fascinating to see how Evaristo explored so many facets of identity and society throughout. This is a book to savor. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Racism, Rape, and Sexism

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

bien's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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

3.75

This book is a collection of short stories following black girls/woman and a non-binary person through different times in England. Their lives are all somehow connected in different ways (partners, friends, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, etc), some of it were easier to connect than others. 

I loved getting to know all the different characters and learn about them. I really took my time to read this book as it wasn’t an “easy read”, however I really do feel like it’s an important one! Some stories were heavier than others and therefore took me longer to read than others. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Transphobia