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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
40 reviews
shrachel_'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
4.5
Graphic: Slavery and Drug use
Moderate: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Infidelity, Suicide, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Racial slurs, and Rape
readandfindout's review
4.5
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Classism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Incest, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Violence, Torture, Rape, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Slavery, Pedophilia, Violence, Racial slurs, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation, Infidelity, Murder, Death of parent, Sexism, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Blood, and Bullying
noteworthy_fiction's review
Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abortion, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Body shaming
kelly_e's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Author: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Genre:
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date:
T H R E E • W O R D S
Sweeping • Tender • Rewarding
📖 S Y N O P S I S
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called "Double Consciousness," a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois has sat untouched on my shelf for far too long simply because of its sheer size. A yearly reading challenge prompt ('read a 600+ page book') forced my hand and I couldn't be more grateful! This is proof that I shouldn't leave big books sitting on my shelf.
This novel is a long journey, but it was worth every single minute. Following the sweeping history of one American family over centuries of the colonial slave trade, through the Civil War, to our own tumultuous era. It's a work of fiction, yet these characters felt so real. So alive. I was rooting for their victories and sympathized with their pain. Ailey (the main story teller) is researching her families history and I was along for the ride. My heart felt for Lydia as well. These two sister's weaved their way into my brain even when I wasn't reading.
The writing is absolutely beautiful and layered. It was easy to read 100 pages in one sitting without noticing the passage of time. The family history is interwoven seamlessly with the modern timeline. The narrative certainly tackles a lot - race, history, identity, privilege, intersectionality, identity, culture, womanhood and shared trauma - and yet it all comes together so flawlessly.
This book is one for the ages - equal parts compelling and moving. Although lengthy it easily could have been longer. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is an experience all of its own. It's demanding, challenging, and incredibly well-researched. I will be finding a special place for this one on my favourites bookshelf. Definitely check out content warnings beforehand as this is no easy journey and being in the right headspace is necessary.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• lovers of the family saga
• readers who love beautiful writing
• bookclubs
🔖F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Even in a place of sorrow, time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing."
"But first you got to get out of the library sometimes and meet somebody, 'cause it ain't legal to marry books."
"These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light."
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Addiction, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Classism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Racial slurs, Racism, and Hate crime
Moderate: Colonisation, Sexism, Murder, Violence, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
colourism, overdoseari76's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
That being said, I had qualms. It was a humungous undertaking to write about this family from its relative beginning to the 21st century, and especially big when you consider the time skips and revelations. I commend Jeffers for bringing in the details at every stage and I enjoyed some of the writing that reflected every period. I /learned/ a lot through the book. However, those choices also resulted in me getting lost in the broader narrative, especially after having Ailey as the primary narrator (and using "I") for a while then switching back to the omniscient perspective. I found myself playing catch-up, and at times feeling a little frustrated without a family tree and with a focus on broader events. I appreciated that Jeffers made family was implicated in broader Black US history, but I feel like we didn't get to see the arc pay off within the family itself at the cost of these connections and perhaps a true timeline of a life. The eras alone were cool to see but also....I could've left more space for the familial processing of the gravity of what happened. That frustration boiled over a bit at the end when Ailey's
As you can tell by the review, this book brings up so many thoughts for me, and for that, I'm grateful. There was so much that I wanted and I have to remind myself, so much that Jeffers wanted to give.
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Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Racism, Pregnancy, Incest, Hate crime, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Slavery, and Death of parent
bugzecat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Death, Incest, Rape, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Trafficking
permanme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Addiction, Pedophilia, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Genocide, Abortion, and Alcohol
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Self harm, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Colonisation, Addiction, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: Religious bigotry and Police brutality
wonderwoman11'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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Violence, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child death