Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

59 reviews

theheartisanarrow's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

wound up enjoying this one more once i switched to the audiobook bc the lack of punctuation and capitalisation (which i know was a choice and i kinda get it, but still) made it so hard for me to read.

it reads a bit like non-fiction in a good way, as these intertwined slice-of-life type short stories felt heart-wrenchingly authentic, like peering into the real lives and (often harsh) realities of so many people

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child death and Transphobia

Minor: Suicide and Self harm

thedisabledreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

emilo's review

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

2022:absolutely solid. i really liked how everything tied together 

2024:
I do really like this book a lot, it’s probably one of my like most favourite ones and i did almost cry. 
i do like bernardine evaristo a lot but she did kinda fumble the trans rep. like using characters deadnames, not understanding why we don’t differentiate between medically and non medically transitioned people, not like completely getting trans women and i dunno i would have liked her to write about more about the intersection of race and being trans, which she didn’t really get. that said for a cis woman she really *got* the feelings of a non binary/trans masc experience, and you can tell she did her research. 
but i think that it would have helped if one of the other main characters was a trans woman because like it would have been good to see more of the diversity of womanhood. and then it’s like why include morgan? like they are only included in this book because they are afab. and they clearly have a difficult relationship to being assigned female at birth and it was hard for them. 

also!! in the dedication of lgbti but not lgbtiaq is wild. like cmon mate. asexuals and aromantics and agender people exist. it’s silly to do the rest of the letters and just forget us. also womyn is transphobic. 

that said!!! this book ends on a conclusion of inclusion with amma encouraging domique to be more inclusive in her feminism and in her lesbian festivals. 
i do rlly like this book and like again clearly the author put a lot of research in esp if she’s not queer herself. 

also!!! why r they all in england??? like scotland is sm fun 

anyway i love this book a lot 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Classism, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Deadnaming, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Violence, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

mme_carton's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Classism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Islamophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: War, Slavery, Excrement, and Self harm

Minor: Eating disorder, Cancer, and Infertility

leoniefnk's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

emma_michelle's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective 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

4.0

I read this book purely because it won the booker prize - I've never been a fan of contemporary fiction and I find people trying to "break literary rules" often fall flat, feeling too heavy handed and intentional. 

This book, once I got used to the style, was breathtaking. It is genuinely exquisite. 

Now, fictional social commentary isn't my top genre either - I tend to stick to non-fiction social commentary, or political fiction.  Once again, this book changed my perspective. 

It follows a series of characters, exploring the lives of (usually) non-conforming British people, spanning race, gender, age, sexuality and also, refreshingly, various political viewpoints. One character is racist, and deals with her own racism in the final chapters, and another is abundant in her love for her great-grandchild, though continues to misgender them out of a lack of understanding of non-binary people. 

Most of all, I loved how I was encouraged to feel sympathy for those I would normally disagree with (see: racism and mis-gendering above), alongside questioning the experiences of BAME British people, which, living in a very white area, doesn't always come to the forefront of my mind. 

This book is well written, explores different political topics, and is a must read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

3.25

I loved the characters and, even when I didn’t necessarily love them, I felt like I could understand them better. I found the pacing of the book, and how disjointed it was (stylistic choice not a writing error), was difficult for me to get into for long periods. It was very ebb and flow interest. I basically had a hard time getting into each new character but as soon as I was in it it would switch to someone else. It was a good book, it just wasn’t necessarily my favourite. I have listed A LOT of trigger warnings, however, it being a social commentary, they are used to explore the nuances and intersectionality between race, class, sexuality, and gender and do not overpower the commentary. However, I LOVED the ending and epilogue. It was so emotional and that was probably my favourite storyline.

it also answered my main question of how Penelope fit into the story, beyond working with Shirley. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Cancer

Child sexual abuse, adoption trauma

teaskate's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The concept of this book is really interesting and I really enjoyed how it was brought to light.The connections and story’s between the characters were extraordinarily good and the different perspectives of the time lines in Britain and the characters were really interesting.Great book :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Deadnaming

livimarie's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Looking at my content warnings you might think to skip this book, but don't!! It tackles all of these things and more in such a respectful and thought provoking way. Honestly, the best book I've read in a long time, I would highly recommend everyone (of 18+ in age) read it, and just bear im mind going in that it will be challenging at times. Amazing work Bernardine Evaristo, I cannot wait to pick up your other books.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Really enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infertility, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Violence, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Bullying, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Infidelity

Moderate: Slavery, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Violence, and Drug abuse

Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Alcoholism