Reviews

God of Mercy by Okezie Nwoka

rballenger's review against another edition

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: Suggested based on past reads and the cover art caught my eye.

Overall rating: I'm not rating as this was a DNF. I just couldn't get into it. I found the structure difficult to follow and the language used repetitive and unnatural. I do plan to pick this one up again in print, hoping I'll be able to get further in a different version.

mcdevimm's review

DNF

cafffine's review

2.5

While I loved the prose, the setting, the intense interrogation of christianity and colonization / the violence of christianity, and the dedicated depiction of an uncolonized Igbo village and the sociology within, I was really held up by the character work. 
The dialogue came off as very stiff at times which stripped a lot of otherwise strongly characterized figures of a distinct voice. Also, at around 2/3 of the way through the book, nearly all plot lines were dropped except the main one which let me down a bit, because I was invested in the other characters who I then never really got a conclusion on. I don’t regret reading this but I wanted a lot more out of it. 

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism, Ableism, Gun violence, Child death, Colonisation, Misogyny, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Excrement, Animal death, and Vomit

city_girl_writer's review

Not in the mood for this book either. Not sure if I will come back to this one before the end of the year, but we shall see...

impactbee's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved how the book dealt with traditions vs change, the impact of religion and it can be used to get exploit, the ease of how the oppressed can become an oppressor, and the complexity of emotions that come with suffering while believing in a God. 

The pacing was slow at times and sped up in the last section. It would have been great to get Ikemba and Phyllipa's perspective at the end as it was uncharacteristic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Excrement

bookbutch's review against another edition

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Overall a beautifully written book. The writing style of this book is so unique and is either going to be love-it or hate-it. I liked the plot of the book and the character of Ijeoma. I learned a lot about Igbo culture. I thought that the journal entries were a bit weird but they were finally explained later on and it made a bit more sense.

michebookies's review

4.0

It takes a minute to get into because this book reads almost like a gospel.

aardwyrm's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Rough and transcendent, a storyteller's cadence and a butcher's efficient brutality interrogating religion, identity, community, and other subjects so deep under the skin you can't see them without bleeding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Racism, Rape, Ableism, Blood, Death of parent, Excrement, Sexism, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicide, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Trafficking, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Suicide attempt

gizmo1994's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0