Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

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

15 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

Perfect. It’s a rare long gem that deserves to be so. I loved making small discoveries throughout the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Genocide, Infidelity, Infertility, Mental illness, Body shaming, Abortion, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Colonisation, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Murder, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Physical abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

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

permanme's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

3littlewordz's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

 “Even in a place of sorrow, time passes. Even in a place of joy." And so passes time in the Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. 

This book was perfect. Simply incredibly perfect. I’ve seen people in the book-osphere that have mentioned wanting to be able to read a book again for the first time, and this is one of those books. I already know that this epic novel is one of my top reads of all time. Yes, I’ve already called it. 

So many themes were explored in the centuries covered in this storyline: slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, the displacement and genocide of Indigenous people, sexual assault/incest, casual racism and racial terror, colorism (including passing), distrust, family secrets, drug addiction, segregation, life at an HBCU vs. PWI, the journey through academia as a black person…so many more. Another throughline explored beautifully was the Black American’s relationship to food, and how it could be both soothing and harmful. And of course, Du Bois!! His pen is razor-sharp and I absolutely love how the quotes at the beginning of each Song were so superbly chosen for that portion of the book. Ultimately, the strong family bonds wrapped me up like a warm, cozy blanket, even when the family dealt with strife and pain. 

Now, there are SEVERAL triggers in this book, and several themes mentioned above are explored in rather explicit detail. If you haven't yet started on the path to healing for those triggers (mainly sexual assault and abuse), some parts of this story may be too heavy for you. I finished some chapters and had to close my eyes and decompress. 

Jeffers' writing style is exquisite. I particularly enjoyed the historical anchors (beyond simple dates) included throughout the novel that oriented me to time and place. It's easy to tell that she's a poet by the phrasing and descriptions used throughout. Her world-building was so expansive and wonderfully done that I blinked and devoured 50-100 pages at a time. I actually read all except the very first chapter in 8 days - I didn't mind reading all 800 pages quickly! 

Simply put, read this book. And if you’ve already read this and are equally as enamored with this type of story as I am, I strongly recommend Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza. 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Abortion, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Death, Genocide, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

ohsonoelle's review

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Bullying

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

qqjj's review against another edition

dark sad medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Incest, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Abortion, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Drug abuse, Child death, and 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

chirazhene's review

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Addiction, Abortion, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Medical content, Homophobia, Fatphobia, and Alcohol

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