Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Assembly by Natasha Brown

26 reviews

leoniefnk's review against another edition

reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This is the definition of literary girl dinner. The tangibility that Brown paints into my ears is at times gorgeous, but mostly a source of unease. Everybody should read this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment, Deportation, War, and Slavery

jennanaps's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Racism, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Hate crime, Classism, Colonisation, and Medical content

rainbowarpaint's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer

schorlett's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cancer, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Classism

lady_bountiful's review

challenging slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Classism, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexism

hypocrisis's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

hard to stomach, in a good way.
more like poetry than a novel, really enjoyed the style. natasha brown knows people and how to cut to their core quickly.
there are many great quotes from this book, yet this one found its way into this unfairly brief review simply because i opened my notes app immediately upon reading it, starting the collection of quotations from assembly.

p.21
"Victimhood is a choice," Rach said. Part opinion, part mantra.

while the narrator is describing her best friend here, as the book unfolds it becomes apparent that - although they are not affected in the same way and navigate this differently - both women repress their true feelings, in the narrator's case going so for as to alter her personality, to survive an inhospitable environment (until she chooses to stop surviving).

edit: I still find myself thinking a lot about this book and i don't think it was entirely random of me to elaborate on this particular quote, though it must've been subconscious at the time which I'm slightly embarrassed about. Only now do i realise how much of the protagonists' perspective is revealed within those sentences and how they literally foreshadow the plot.

I can't do this book justice... but if you're thinking about reading it you really should!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Racism, Cancer, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Colonisation

anneklein's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? N/A

4.25

holy shit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Terminal illness, Classism, Misogyny, Medical content, Racism, Sexism, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Xenophobia

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Medical content, Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Hate crime

goldyyy's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Cancer, and Slavery

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a book club pick which I would never have read otherwise and while I'm glad I read it, I never really clicked with it. Ultimately it's a me problem because I just don't really get on with stream of consciousness narratives. It meant I never connected with the main character and because there's almost no plot I didn't feel drawn into the narrative. However I can see that it's a good book for what it is and it's very effective in the way it discusses some really complex issues like racism, colonialism, classism and sexism. So while it's definitely not for me, I can see why so many other people loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Cancer, and Terminal illness