Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

192 reviews

henlovesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

This book had me both devastated and captivated the whole way through. I will admit I went into the book blind and was at first confused as each chapter revealed a new member of the family. It was a bit harder for me to keep track of the stories but finding the family tree definitely helped. 

After the initial confusion, I found myself completely engrossed in each of the narratives. The storytelling skillfully navigates between the darkest shadows of our history and the delicate threads of human connection. In her haunting poetic exploration of generational trauma, Gyasi breathes life into each character with an aching tenderness that deeply resonated with me. 

This book was challenging, informative and captivating. I cannot recommend it enough

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and War

crybabybea's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

aamie's review

4.5

I really liked it!! Pretty dark but sooo interesting. I feel like I learned so much about Ghana and the history of their people and in America too. I really like how the stories intertwined but I do wish we got to see more of their lives then the little snapshots we get especially for the people in the later generations. I thought it was really well written and some of the imagery and feelings evoked were horrific but handled with a lot of care and poetry. Majorie and the Old Woman 😭😭😭✨✨🫶  SAM AND NESS! KOJO AND ANNA 😭 every storyline just had so much heartbreak and pain and suffering and you just feel so much humanity for them. Good book!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

bookdrunkard78's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

badgergatan's review against another edition

Unfortunately a touch too dark for my tastes, and a plot structure that’s difficult to follow. I may revisit it someday - this was far enough beyond my typical comfort zone that I wasn’t quite ready for itZ

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Rape

mjverrall's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Colonisation

addi_m's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child death

snipinfool's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Homegoing followed the lives of two half-sisters, raised in different villages, whose lives took very different paths. One sister, Effia, was married off to an Englishman who oversaw the slave trade in the Gold Coast (later called Ghana). She lived in a castle-like dwelling and wanted for little. Her sister, Esi, was captured and imprisoned in the dungeon of Effia’s home. Esi was sent to America, where she was enslaved. The story followed Effia’s and Esi’s families through 300 years of time and demonstrated how the sisters’ lives shaped the six generations that followed. 

This story grabbed my attention from the beginning. Both matriarch’s stories were compelling. Noting how slavery affected each generation took the reader through a full range of emotions. Yaa Gyasi did an excellent job of conveying the struggle and pain felt by the characters in her book. My favorite character was H. A lessor man would have likely broken when faced with the hardships of H’s life. I could imagine H coming home after working in the coal mines in Alabama. I could see in my mind the coal dust clinging to his clothing, skin, and hair and could imagine his want to be as far from it as he could be. I especially liked the ending. Sometimes life has a way of putting people in one’s life that need to be there. This was an excellent story and I would recommend it to everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Trafficking and Kidnapping

liamray's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

It was like a history lesson of slavery and imperialism brought to scale where you hear the story of how real people were affected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Slavery

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape and War

aliireads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book was really well-written! Sometimes a bit confusing to keep all of the names straight, but i like how the characters relate to each other and how the book wraps up. I would recommend this one 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexual assault