Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Frère d'âme by David Diop

9 reviews

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Racial slurs, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

mine_gerber's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, War, and Excrement

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Torture

maya7's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Narrated by Alfa, a Senegalese soldier serving in the French army during World War I. Facing the painful death of his almost brother-like friend, Alfa was slowly falling into a pit of madness and finally collapsed.

Repetitive sentences were a bit hard for me to get into the story at first, but I was horrified reading the last chapter and went back to the first page again, then the story felt different with more understanding about the background. 

A dark and powerful novella about the violence and madness caused by war and colonialism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Kidnapping

rebeccaquinton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-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: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Torture, Abandonment, War, Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Gore, Death, and Colonisation

maren_hemsath's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Racism, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Blood

kaitlyng's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, War, Sexual content, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Mental illness, Colonisation, Grief, Cannibalism, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, and Kidnapping

Minor: Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexism

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

God's truth, I know, I understand.
This is a story that is deftly crafted. It is a lyrically poetic short-read, that has lines that are used and reused like a mantra. They ground the story where the mentality of the narrator is not always so grounded.

In war the conflict is as much internal as external, and this is a story of duality. It primarily deals with the narrator's conflict over moral imperatives, and the practicalities of situations. Is morality absolute?, or is the outcome worse when you "do what you must"?  When you are doing Good because you have unquestioning duty, you do not stop and think for yourself. These are the disconcerting grey areas that more people ignore.

The self analysis of a man who has gone through, and been damaged by, horrendous trauma
unearths the revelation that there are sometimes "thoughts too well dressed to be honest". It's clear that the emotional and mental state of people in conflict puts pressure on these thoughts.. the simple truths or simple lies that we are taught, that are used to describe our value systems, and the roles that others expect us to fill.

War demands inhumanity of humans. It calls brutality good, and rewards those who are unwise. It expects you to ignore your own survival instinct and lean a little into the insanity of Bravery.. but you need to come back from that edge.  People want temporary madmen; "no continuous madmen".

This story told by a broken person who has leaned too far into the madness of war, has a great narrative flow. The tal is laid out about the harshness of battle, and some life in the trenches, and in recollections from before the war. The ending is a bit of a departure from the rest of the story and has a fabulous twist. Whether or not the narrator is reliable is left up to your scrutiny.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Racism, Sexual content, War, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Racial slurs, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

emmaopaline's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

julianh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Violence, War, and Sexual assault

This book has all the triggers. Make sure you are in a good place mentally before reading this book.