Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

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

12 reviews

seventhswan's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

2.25

I loved Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, so I had such high hopes for this full-length collection - but I was disappointed. If I hadn't read any of Shire's earlier work, I might have liked this better, but many of the poems were reworks of poems I'd already read in TMMHTGB, and for me the earlier versions were better. I was especially heartbroken to see Trying To Swim With God stripped of its rhythm and everything that made me connect with it so strongly when I first read it. 

I don't think this is an outright bad collection - I wouldn't warn people off it, and there was the occasional poem, such as the one for Victoria Climbie, that I found moving. It just felt hollow to me, and overly pared back in comparison to TMMHTGB.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, War, and Child abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

glittery_phoenix's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I saw a snippet of Warsan's poem "Home" on social media, and was so captivated by her writing that I immediately bought her book - despite not being a fan of poetry. 

Bless The Daughter reeled me in with each line of beautifully (and often painfully) written text. This book has triggered my new love & appreciation of poetry! It provides an incredible insight into her experiences and inner monologue.... so whether you can relate to it or learn from it, I can promise you that this book is powerful and a privilege to read. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, and War

michaelion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

2.25

I like poems that rhyme so this one just wasn't for me :/ There's a few good moments but it didn't really feel artistic. That doesn't take away from the art though, it just feels more like she had all these heavy things on her mind weighing her down that she just had to get out there and maybe she'd feel lighter after. FIVE stars for the art FIVE stars for the title.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Racism, Rape, and War

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body horror, Homophobia, Abortion, and Pedophilia

misty_muskrat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, War, and Sexual assault

rayannotates's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

jaiari12's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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: Misogyny, Rape, and Child abuse

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

Minor: Cancer, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, and Suicide

venetiana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Rape, Blood, Racism, Murder, Eating disorder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Cancer, Abortion, War, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical content, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Child abuse, and Abandonment

czidya's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

3.5

This collection was a mixed bag, but where it was good it was outstanding. Shire's writing is richly symbolic as it deals with challenging topics like abuse, misogyny, and the experiences of refugees. At times I found the imagery so dense it was impenetrable- unfortunately many of the poems left no impression on me at all because I couldn't really make sense of the verbal collage. However, Shire gets the balance right more often than not, creating lush emotional poems that share a fraught but profound relationship with God and religion, as the collection's title suggests.
My favorites of the collection:

• Filial Cannibalism
• Midnight in the Foreign Food Aisle
• Bless the Camels
• Hooyo Full of Grace
• Joyride
• Backwards

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pedophilia, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death and War