Reviews tagging 'War'

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

43 reviews

dafni's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, and War

krys_kilz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

Julia Alvarez's review of this collection sums up my feelings: "This fierce and compelling book of poems should come with a warning label: These poems will break your heart."

My favorite poems in the collection were: Assimilation, Home, Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle, Backwards, Hooyo Isn’t Home, and Bless the Gun Tossed into a River. 

"Dear Uncle, is everything you love foreign
or are you foreign to everything you love?"

- from Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Racism, and War

Minor: Eating disorder and Suicide

americattt's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

“You only leave home when home won’t let you stay…No one puts their children on a boat unless the water is safer than the land. No one would choose days and nights in the stomach of a truck, unless the miles traveled meant something more than journey.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and War

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

 Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. It is the first full length poetry collection by this Somali British poet and reflects the realities of Black Muslim women from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, realities that include both great sorrow and great joy. I found it to a be really accessible collection and was at times blown away by the sheer power of Shire’s words. Home (well-known apparently but new to me) was a standout, succinctly and starkly explaining the reality of the decision to flee home and of being a refugee. Plenty of imagery from other poems grabbed my attention too - “…Amel’s hardened nipples push/through the paisley of her blouse, minarets/
calling men to worship.” Highly recommended, especially if you are looking for an accessible relevant contemporary collection.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Rape, and War

jaiari12's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Blood, Abortion, and Pregnancy

madanxiety's review against another edition

reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

The one that stood out to me the most was I think called backwards? It was about re-writing one's life. Audiobooks don't always have an accurate table of contents, particularly with poems, but I really appreciated the rhythm or sound of that poem. I also didn't realized until I got to it that Shire is the author of the poem Beyoncé referenced in her visual album, Lemonade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Eating disorder

kirstym25's review

dark emotional medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Grief, and War

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

ekg's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and War

inamerata's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

5.0

Absolutely stunning. The imagery, the word choice, the pacing, the emotions, the craft -- I lack the words to describe how good this is. This book deals in quite heavy topics, but if you are able, I definitely recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Rape

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and War

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Suicide, and Cannibalism