Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

36 reviews

lilcoppertop's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

susannaobrien's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

At first I was a little lost with the changing timelines (even though normally I like this style) but by the end I appreciated the artistic device for the way it built the mystery up for the reveal. When it came, I felt physically knocked by the tragedy and unfairness of it all. The cast of characters were complex and interesting, with few being entirely likeable but all feeling real and sparking empathy. The story was a nuanced portrayal of what it means to come to terms with others' gender and sexual identities, as well as your own, in a culture that is not ready to accept them. I really appreciated the exploration of the various forms love and loyalty can take, between families, friends and loves, as well as the taboos of crossing those lines. Sentences and dialogue were also beautifully written. Overall a surprising and affecting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Misogyny

Minor: Addiction and Alcohol

flowerparrish's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

My feelings about this book are complicated. Overwhelmingly positive overall, but... complicated. 
1) I would recommend that any trans person reading this book take a good look at content warnings beforehand, because it is exceptionally triggering with depictions of transphobia and discussion of hate crimes against trans people. 
2) I would recommend anyone reading this book take a look at trigger warnings, even if you think the transphobia won't be as big of an issue for you, because there are DEFINITELY others, and it's heavy af. 
3) I do think this is an important read for family members of trans people who want to be supportive but think changing your perspective is a lot of work (it is) and you don't know how to start / if it's worth the dedication. It is, and this book is a beautiful depiction of WHY. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Deadnaming and Misogyny

Minor: Miscarriage

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

skudiklier's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

This book was stunning and heartbreaking and beautiful and painful and surprising. I read it for a book club that isn't meeting for several weeks (I always read book club books too early accidentally haha), but this time I'm glad because I want to think about it a lot before I'll know what to say. I'd definitely recommend it though, it's very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Vomit, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Deadnaming, and Bullying

Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Eating disorder, Cursing, and Rape

Minor: Ableism

naika's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

I have complicated feelings about this book, sadly. Do I think the writing was as harrowing and gripping as the hyper suggests? Yes. It tackled a wide range of themes, from grief and loss, identity, abuse, cultural and social differences, etc. That is what initially drew me to the story. But I would be dishonest if I did not say some of what was written was unsettling to me - specifically the incest. It would be one thing if the book clearly unpacked the problems with this, but to me, the story took a passive, unchallenging approach. I could not come to terms with how it was handled. 

I also struggled with some sections of the story where we got points of view from characters who ultimately had little to do with the larger story. It ended up being unnecessary filler and distracted me from the narrative. So I would also say the pacing did not always work for me. 

But the story continues to sit with me, despite some of the jarring aspects. This is making it difficult for me to give a star rating, so I won't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Cursing

Minor: Infertility