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0hannah0banana0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, Incest, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Violence
inneraman's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy
sidekicksam's review against another edition
I don't want to waste too many words on this review because I'm having a hard time finding the right ones to describe how amazed, inspired and surprised I was about this book. Exploring themes of domestic abuse, generational trauma, colonialism, colorism and friendship, Allen-Agostini writes beautifully and engagingly. She could've written the story over 1.000 pages and I still would have wanted more, but that made it all the more amazing that she did it in less than 250 and it still made me feel so engrossed in the main character and her story.
Highly recommend. Go read.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol, and Incest
gobby_gilbert's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abortion, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Death, and Classism
tombomp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think it's hard to put my thoughts together about this. It's a cavalcade of trauma and abuse and then it just ends so... neatly? Like, not that the scars are resolved obviously. But it feels weird - although even saying that feels wrong, as if I'm suggesting that actually the trauma should have carried on, which is also not what I meant.
I think part of it is that the neat ending owes very little to the actions of the main character in the "present day" - there's connections formed in childhood that only just come back around all at once and we only see bits and pieces of how they happened and Spoilera loose friendship where the other person seemingly took it upon herself to get the MC's abusive violent boyfriend shot in a way that framed him as the shooter? it's a little vague at the end exactly what happened and how much knowledge people had but it's heavily implied imo. That's not bad exactly - everyone needs support and it's good to show stuff happening as a group effort, obviously. It more just adds to the sense that things wrapped up due purely to coincidence than anything else. Which... again I guess that's not that inaccurate to real life. So again I can't exactly mark it down for that.
I think the explicit child sexual abuse scene really threw me for a loop and eclipsed everything else about the book. Not suggesting it's wrong to portray it, just it was so intense (even though I had to skim it) that I couldn't really get settled about how I feel about the book due to feeling so upset and lost reading that.
I will say as an obvious unalloyed good thing: the Trinidadian Creole writing style is really good and I loved reading it. It's an incredibly readable book that's quite compelling
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Incest, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape
emilyrowanstudio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
I hadn't heard of The Bread the Devil Knead until it was recommended in an email from bookshop.org. I was drawn in by the title - what a title!! - followed by reviews on Goodreads saying what an immersively emotional read this was. It came as no surprise to me to find out this was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. The character and world building is phenomenal.
Told mostly in first person Trinidadian creole, interspersed with flashback chapters written in the third person, Alethea's voice is brought to life and I don't think i'll ever read another voice like hers. She never breaks, despite everything that's happened (happens) to her, and only does she come close as the story develops and horrors from her past become clearer and clearer. Take heed of the trigger warnings - incest, rape, and murder to name but a few. This is not an easy read but, if you can stomach it, you will be rewarded as this is ultimately a story about hope, and what comes next.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Incest, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
mirireads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Infidelity, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Excrement, Death of parent, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Vomit
stuffinmybrainhole's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Miscarriage, Infertility, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Incest, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Alcohol
loesm's review
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism
yawningtiger's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence