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moviemagus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery
hannahbailey's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Generally I prefer not to read character-vignette novels written in third-person. But this novel just goes to show that when done well, I can really enjoy them! I loved the distinct voice of each character and how they would be name-dropped in one chapter only to be the main character of the next one. It built such an interesting and creative narrative without leaving me feeling I didn't know enough about them–which is usually the case for me with character-vignettes.
Surprised to see some reviews stating the character dialogue and mix of poetry/prose was hard to believe and unrealistic. I completely disagree! The inner dialogue of the female characters was relatable and familiar. I enjoyed the exploration of womanhood and motherhood and how this intersects with race in Britain. It was an interesting and sobering read.
It was almost 5 stars, but there was a part where the character overcomes drug addiction by sheer willpower–they literally stay at home for a week without any form of support and somehow recovers? This didn't feel realistic to me especially given the vulnerability and young age of the character. That said, this was one of the chapters that really stood out to me in its exploration of body/gender dysphoria and trans joy.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
mme_carton's review
- 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
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
- 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
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
nickoliver's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The writing style was probably something that some people will struggle with. There were no quotation marks, almost no capitalised words, and instead of ending sentences with a period, Evaristo simply wrote the next sentence on a new line. I have to say I'm kind of a sucker for a style like this, even if it did seem a bit pretentious and hard to read at times (especially during dialogue, because it could be hard to keep track of who was saying what). But I have to say that if you struggle with writing styles à la Sally Rooney, you will probably also struggle with this one - possibly more so, even.
To be honest, the writing was almost a bit too advanced for me? I didn't always quite understand what characters were talking about and it made little sense to me. Which, obviously, was mostly a me-problem.
The topics were tough to read sometimes. Evaristo covered a big variety of issues. Some of them were omnipotent in every chapter, like the racism that Black people and Black women in general face in Britain, or the rampant misogyny and sexism. Other themes were only there in a specific chapter or specific chapters, like teenage pregnancies, drug addiction, miscarriages, or (gang) rape. I'd definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings first if you've got big triggers. Admittedly, sometimes some of the topics were too easy to overcome. For example, the drug addict got over her addiction simply by going cold turkey for a week and then never fell back into addiction anymore. There was sometime nothing specific that actually helped the women overcome their struggles and trauma; it was simply by pure will.
Some of the feminism that Evaristo wrote also felt a bit problematic and non-inclusive, especially when it came to trans rights. One of the chapters was about a non-binary person, and while I could deal with them getting misgendered and deadnamed in their own chapter - they didn't know yet at the beginning of the chapter that they were even non-binary to begin with -, I didn't understand while they kept getting misgendered in many of the later chapters, too. A lot of the transphobia just wasn't called out enough.
The character portrayal was done pretty well. The characters were mostly not very likeable and didn't differ from one another that much sometimes, but Evaristo explored their psyches a lot, which I liked. Also, I don't think a character necessarily needs to be likeable to be interesting to read about. Like I said, I did occasionally have trouble remembering characters, but it was usually not that hard to figure out who I was reading about again.
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Transphobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Biphobia
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Biphobia, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Deadnaming, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Death
anapthine's review against another edition
- 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
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
daisymayl's review
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, and Drug abuse
corriejn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Homophobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Transphobia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Colonisation
egnnagem's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Rape, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse