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calamityin's review against another edition
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It's about exhaustion, it's about burnout. Can I ever live up to the life I was supposed to have? Is it even worth trying?
One possible theme is that one cannot stop, but must always keep moving, something Brown directly challenges with her character who questions why the movement is necessary. Much of this questioning rings into suicidal ideation, with detachment, confusion, and resignation all seeping into the words, and the main character's consideration of her cancer diagnosis further bolsters this idea.
As the book came to a close, I was left with the distinct impression that this book was supposed to be a speech more than a novel. It was saying something not about a narrative story but about experience on the whole, which I can understand turns many readers away when they find they cannot connect with the characters. I, however, thought this worked beautifully and could feel myself aligning with an orator who can tell the audience is not getting what they should from the presentation. By the end, I was drawn back to the early image of a talk at a school for young girls, encouraging them to pursue the life of the MC, while the MC herself is questioning if she wants to continue pursuing this life.
Altogether a beautiful book that I will be buying a personal copy of so that I can make my own annotations to the text on my next read.
One possible theme is that one cannot stop, but must always keep moving, something Brown directly challenges with her character who questions why the movement is necessary. Much of this questioning rings into suicidal ideation, with detachment, confusion, and resignation all seeping into the words, and the main character's consideration of her cancer diagnosis further bolsters this idea.
As the book came to a close, I was left with the distinct impression that this book was supposed to be a speech more than a novel. It was saying something not about a narrative story but about experience on the whole, which I can understand turns many readers away when they find they cannot connect with the characters. I, however, thought this worked beautifully and could feel myself aligning with an orator who can tell the audience is not getting what they should from the presentation. By the end, I was drawn back to the early image of a talk at a school for young girls, encouraging them to pursue the life of the MC, while the MC herself is questioning if she wants to continue pursuing this life.
Altogether a beautiful book that I will be buying a personal copy of so that I can make my own annotations to the text on my next read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Hate crime, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Deportation
Minor: Body shaming, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
sangsmiles's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Deportation
fiaharringbook's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Deportation
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Slavery, Violence, Sexual harassment, War, and Deportation
tamaramo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Colonisation, and Deportation
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
A Black British woman writes what is basically her manifesto and suicide letter explaining her choice to not seek treatment for her metastatic cancer and details her history of continuous dehumanization and racism with a list of incidents of workplace sexual harassment, microaggressions, and full on racist interactions in every level of her life but most significantly in her professional sphere. She's promoted in her banking career but the suits make it seem she's just a diversity hire/promotion to look good. One day in her job after her promotion, a man married to one of her boyfriend's sisters goes on rant on how Black and Hispanic people have it easier but he's not actually against diversity, he just wants fairness. Then she's invited to her boyfriend's his parents weekend marriage anniversary dinner at his estate home, with further classist and more racist mocking by them, and throughout all that, we learn through the MC how Britain still doesn't recognize their history of abusive imperialism and colonization. We see how abortive losers use immigration as scapegoat to justify their mediocrity and seek validation for their loser selves being racist. The MC shares her grievances of being dehumanized every moment of her life and how she's literally done, so much so, that beating cancer and surviving would condemn her to keep this hellish state and how not only would she be a cancer survivor, but a Black cancer survivor, so all that would add to her being further objectified and cheaply used as "inspiration". It's a very bleak book bc you can feel the mc's exhaustion soak through you as you read and you get so angry at the fact that the white instigators of all this are oblivious throughout all of their lives. Sometimes though, it feels like the MC has a chip on her shoulder and maybe she's overanalyzing her boyfriend's parents and sister mundane behavior bc living in a white world is startling enough but no they open their mouths and they really are like that. The writing here is insightful, with gut-punch quotes. You'll have a hard time trying to not highlight the whole thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Racial slurs
jreis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Racism, and Deportation