Reviews tagging 'Death'

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn

11 reviews

kathryngardyne's review

challenging dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Colonisation

fieldofhats's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Read for British Literature.

This was one of the more entertaining and exciting texts I have read for my Brit Lit class, though I don’t feel comfortable giving it more than 2 stars. I think this may have been very progressive for the early 18th century, but it’s very racist in the modern sense, which is uncomfortable at the very least. Oroonoko is constantly praised for his western features and interests, and it’s implied that he’s only beautiful because of that. And, through a series of nonsensical contrivances, he is “forced” to kill his wife and then brutally torture himself in a fit of insanity, before he is eventually put to death. This was one of the worst endings I have ever read in a book, period. Aphra Behn was going for an honor-bound duty-or-death type of thing, but it didn’t work because it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t need to kill his wife (or himself, though that’s at least a common literary theme) to take revenge. One might say that this is just a product of its time and that this is how all premodern literature is, but I call bullshit on that. In the literary world Shakespeare, the King Arthur myths, The Canterbury Tales, etc., this was just plain bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Racism, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, and Self harm

amymegan2023's review

dark informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Colonisation, Racism, and Slavery

bvrealis's review against another edition

informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Oroonoko altissima rappresentazione letteraria della figura dell’himbo che afferra un’anguilla elettrica a mani nude senza motivo solo per dimostrare di poterlo fare e poi viene ricoverato d’urgenza quasi muore ma lui è felice di aver toccato l’anguilla — questa la mia importantissima analisi accademica del sottotesto 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Deportation, Kidnapping, Sexism, Pregnancy, Violence, Misogyny, Blood, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Torture, and Trafficking

madelinebooks1's review

challenging dark fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Hate crime, Racism, and Rape

vanillaphantoms's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This is a book to read if you want to study 17th century attitudes on colonialism and slavery. Interesting for sure, but not entertaining. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Pregnancy

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

kables_reads's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Slavery, and Death

mariekeroos's review

dark informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I find it interesting to read perspectives like these from the time itself. Needless to say tho, it is filled with colonialism, supremacy ideas and such. Behn offers a teeny tiny but of criticism to the horrors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Racism, and Slavery

abrose2001's review

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 There could've been a worse portrayal of the ethnicities, and is is from 1688.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Death, and Violence

Minor: Rape

lquel's review

dark

2.0

incredibly racist depictions. the story is written from a coloniser’s point of view.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs