Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

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

4 reviews

bugzecat's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

There is much to say about this book. It’s the longest book I’ve ever read and I simply don’t have the words to express how deeply this book affected me at times. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

satashii's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

3.5

This is one of those books that you probably should read because of how informative and in-your—face it is about uncomfortable things—the black experience in Georgia going back to the 1600s when the land was occupied by the Creek. It’s informative but also heart breaking in so many ways.

So why such a low rating? 

Because this is a book that, imo, needed an editor to make it a tighter story.  There’s a good 200 pages of this book that make the story drag on and on.  If I hadn’t already hit the halfway point when it really started to slow it’s momentum I’d probably would have DNF’d it but I slogged ahead determined to finish. 

Was the end worth it?  Yes.  Did I think the main character Ailey had an effective character arc?  Somewhat. 

I really struggled with Ailey being the spoiled younger daughter that wasn’t really growing up/maturing.  While I was sympathetic to Lydia’s death and how devastating it was for her, she could be a selfish brat for the middle third of this book that was not endearing her to me.  Her relationships with men and how toxic they were I felt distracted a lot from the other parts of the narrative and the back and forth between present and past didn’t always feel like it was integrating well.  Tbh I would have probably been more interested in seeing Coco’s viewpoint rather than Lydia’s drug spiral.   In the end, I wasn’t wholly satisfied by Ailey’s relationship choices other than I did like that she seemed to be ending up with David at the end.

So subtracting one star for the need for editing and another half star for what felt like, to me, like gratuitous lingering on sex scenes that weren’t really driving the narrative further and felt distracting. 

Overall, I’d recommend it as a read if you haven’t read Toni Morrison’s  work or Octavia Butler’s Kindred… but I’d probably recommend them over this book.   
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Racial slurs, Rape, Drug abuse, Racism, Grief, Addiction, Body shaming, Body horror, and Child abuse

thrillofthepage's review

emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

 Today’s #HistoricalFictionFriday is for a book that might be one of the best books I’ve ever read and will definitely be in my top books of 2022.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by @honoree_jeffers is a generational saga that spans hundreds of years. I was intimidated by this chunk of a book, as well as the pages long family tree at the beginning. However, I’ve learned to take these books slow and steady to allow myself time to savor each page. I tackled this book in 25-30 page increments daily and recommend you do the same.

First, the writing in this novel is indescribable because it’s so many things! It’s powerful, emotional, raw, moving, compelling, and I could go on listing adjectives that would never do it justice. Jeffers weaves together centuries of history and families in such a seamless and effortless way that an 800 page book read like a short story.

Second, the characters are memorable and authentic and I find myself continuing to think of them daily. I hesitate to even call them characters because they are so real and mirror the experiences of so many. Ailey and her independent, ambitious, take no BS attitude was inspiring. I loved watching her discover herself and felt her struggles on a molecular level. Lydia was tragic and her entire arc moved me to tears multiple times. Uncle Root has my heart. This man was the common thread connecting the past and the present and the best way to describe him is as the trunk of the family tree. I loved him more than words can say and he will go down as one of my favorite characters of all time.

Lastly, the impact this story had on me was profound. I felt emotionally connected to these characters and their stories. There is a reason this book has received mountains of praise and accolades. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is a masterpiece, a modern classic, and everyone should read it ASAP. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Abortion, Cursing, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol