Reviews tagging 'Blood'

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

13 reviews

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

kelly_e's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Title: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
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." 

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Content Warnings

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, overdose

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

This is a book I was recommended by a member of an online book club. I really had no idea what it would be about and sometimes I like to go into things with no preconceptions. The focus of this book is telling an intergenerational story of a family. It is fiction, but has the feel of several intergenerational narratives I have liked, such as Wild Swans. The focus of the narrative is Feminist and is an account of the history of Black Americans in the South (specifically Georgia).

Having read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, a lot of the plot points of this book were familiar. If you haven't learned much about the Antebellum South, this could be quite rough going. As a historian (main character) Ailey Pearl Garfield is often shaken, and moved to tears, by the accounts she unearths about happenings in her family's past.

This story is nuanced, and the characters feel like people rather than archetypes. Weaving a history filled with trauma would be pretty much impossible without some levity and there is a lot of dialogue that lightens the mood. Some of the humour is utterly hilarious and there are often call-backs to information about minor characters that pepper the backstory with shared in-jokes and form a real sense of this family inhabiting a rich world and community. There are a couple of LGBT characters in the story, and a family history of Dyslexia which becomes apparent as Ailey digs deeper into her family's story.

I could write an entire page to describe the content warnings... but I won't. Let's just say that Racism is the tip of a horrible, bloody iceberg, and that genocide, sexual abuse, physical abuse, suicide, drug addiction, miscarriage, gaslighting and oppression of various forms are all in this book. It's a big book.. there are a lot of words.. and not all of it is pretty.

The Audiobook is beautifully narrated by 3 different voice talents, and the story spans several different timelines, so if you are "reading" by Audiobook it's a good idea to download the supplemental material that lists the genealogy of the family, so you don't get lost.

Thoroughly recommend this book. I found myself really excited by some revelations near the end and more than once I got body chills and frisson from emotionally resonant bits. This would be a great bookclub read if you have people who read at about the same pace, and don't mind tomes that exceed 800 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Grief, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Excrement, Addiction, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Genocide, Suicide, Misogyny, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Torture, Homophobia, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Alcohol, Ableism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Gore, Classism, Child abuse, Abortion, Violence, Self harm, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Incest, Domestic abuse, Death, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Drug use, and Drug abuse

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

syellico's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is an undertaking. I read it with a group over 3 months as a slow and steady which I know affected my experience. Prolonging some of the absolutely horrible subject matter probably made it an even more difficult read than it is. 
In the end, I was just ready to be done and I probably missed some impact because of it. 
For me, it was just too long and I never was able to completely keep track of the multitude of characters. Major trigger warnings abound.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

malexandriay's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Addiction, Colonisation, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Incest, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, and Physical abuse

toriauricht's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Racism, Drug abuse, Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Addiction, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Incest

Moderate: Sexism, Grief, Abortion, Blood, Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence

taibreakfast's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense 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

I recommend buying a physical copy to read, if you can. It is long and I wish I had done that so I could steadily read it, instead of being at the mercy of the library. Also it goes back and forth between different characters, generations, and time periods, and it would have been helpful to be able to easily refer to the family tree. Obviously can in an eReader but just easier with a book.

Notes on medium aside, a must read if you can, although do check out the content warnings, there are many.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Addiction, Suicide, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Alcohol, and Death of parent

chaptersbydani's review

dark emotional informative reflective

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Addiction, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Pregnancy, Rape, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Murder, Grief, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Genocide