Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

173 reviews

lit_vibrations's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

It was written so good you’d think it was based off a true story. This book deserves all the stars‼️ If you don’t have it buy it and if you already own it READ IT . . . I used audio as I read along with the physical and it was such an amazing experience highly recommend this way. 

The dual timelines were well-paced and woven together perfectly. We journey between the past and present generations of Ailey Garfield’s ancestral lineage in Chicasetta, Georgia. There were so many hidden family secrets, unforeseen linkages, injustices, traumatizing and heartbreaking moments that created this remarkable story. 

The author showcases the importance of knowing one’s family history. Painting such a vivid picture both good and horrific with her words it’s hard not to envision all the characters and the situations they encountered. The family tree was very helpful with keeping up with them all.

Memorable Characters:

Ailey

Lydia

Uncle Root

Dr. Oludara

Most disliked characters:

Samuel

Victor

Gandee

Rebecca

Abdul

The plot was definitely unpredictable and crafted in such a way that made you want to know more. I still have questions about Coco since she was one character I felt the author didn’t shed enough light on. Coco mentioned her family not paying her much attention growing up. So, it’s almost as though the author made her character nonexistent until certain parts. We get so much more backstory on Ailey and Lydia but not much on the pain or trauma Coco experienced when they were all abused by Gandee. I wanted so bad for one of them to speak up. 

Overall, the book was worth the read and if nothing more the author knows how to evoke a reader’s emotions. The dialogue was engaging and continued to build with each chapter. We get themes surrounding family history, addiction, gender, self-discovery, racism, bondage, and education. If this book isn’t on your TBR I highly recommend you add it‼️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Racism

readandfindout's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

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

challenging emotional informative reflective

• 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

This is probably the best book I’ve ever read in my entire life. The author has a way with words and combined with her extensive research, she weaves an immersive fictional but realistic tale about a multigenerational family–mostly seen through the eyes of the main protagonist (Ailey) from childhood to adulthood. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew these characters after experiencing the highs and lows with them. I enjoyed reading every bit of this almost 800-page masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

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

caseycdelima's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Racism

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has so much going on, and I still felt like I could’ve kept reading for 100 more pages because the writing is so beautiful. It is absolutely captivating. Beautifully written, informative, and engaging. It ties in major historical events with characters’ lives in a really impressive and effective way. It’s telling family history and American history at the same time, showing how they’re interconnected. It’s also expertly paced for such a long book. I love the jumping back and forth between timelines, connecting Ailey’s present and family history through her ancestral land. It’s horribly sad and challenging to read, but terribly important. And it has some uplifting moments as well. I really enjoyed reading about Ailey’s journey and the way everything connected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Death, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Hate crime, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Genocide, Infidelity, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Cursing

letmetakea_shelfie_'s review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs

noteworthy_fiction's review

Should have read the content warnings first.  This book is VERY well written and I hope we get more from the author, but I cannot do 20 pages of child abuse in the middle of an already sad and trauma filled book that already included child abuse.  Reader beware!

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Content Warnings

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

joensign's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Racism, Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Grief, Colonisation, and Toxic relationship

jesiareada's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

Very detailed and you experience characters develop throughout time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual violence

pheyreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Some books you read and some books you experience. This is the latter. The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois poured into me: themes, love, ideas, heartache, and inspiration. It’s a novel that’s left a mark on me. I don’t typically reread books because I’m so desperate to get to the next one on my eternal tbr, but I will be rereading this again and again throughout my life. This reminded me why I love to read. I felt so deeply for this fictional family and humanity as a whole. Honorée Jeffers gave nuance and complexity to all of her characters, even the most vile. They all felt like people. 
 I learned so much about our history and gained new revelations. It was very tough to read sometimes: the many instances/references to SA, characters I grew to love not getting a happy ending, cyclical mistakes etc. But the journey overall was beautiful and so special to me. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a genius and The Love Somgs of W.E.B Du Bois is a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Racism