Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Tyttö, nainen, toinen by Bernardine Evaristo

50 reviews

garciaga's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Racism, Transphobia, and Infidelity

hannahbailey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I loved this! What a cracking book, I can't believe I didn't read this sooner.

Generally I prefer not to read character-vignette novels written in third-person. But this novel just goes to show that when done well, I can really enjoy them! I loved the distinct voice of each character and how they would be name-dropped in one chapter only to be the main character of the next one. It built such an interesting and creative narrative without leaving me feeling I didn't know enough about them–which is usually the case for me with character-vignettes.

Surprised to see some reviews stating the character dialogue and mix of poetry/prose was hard to believe and unrealistic. I completely disagree! The inner dialogue of the female characters was relatable and familiar. I enjoyed the exploration of womanhood and motherhood and how this intersects with race in Britain. It was an interesting and sobering read.

It was almost 5 stars, but there was a part where the character overcomes drug addiction by sheer willpower–they literally stay at home for a week without any form of support and somehow recovers? This didn't feel realistic to me especially given the vulnerability and young age of the character. That said, this was one of the chapters that really stood out to me in its exploration of body/gender dysphoria and trans joy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

sylvia_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

To be honest, I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I read it as part of a university-wide project where we could get the book cheap through the university and go to activities around it, but I don’t think I would have otherwise picked it up. 
But I am glad I did! Because this was a very good book. I loved how every story was interconnected and it really made me think about gender/race issues I’d never even considered before. 
The only small gripe I have about this book is that I feel like the younger characters are not always taken as seriously by the narrative as the older characters, but that might just be because I personally identify more with them and hence feel these things more strongly. 
Overall, I’m very glad I own this book now because I will definitely want to reread it some day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Slavery, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Xenophobia

ye_li's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Death, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Racism, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: War and Slavery

sophiemundy13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

4.25

Difficult to begin with because of the unconventional writing style but really interesting once you get into it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Deadnaming, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery

mme_carton's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Classism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Islamophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: War, Slavery, Excrement, and Self harm

Minor: Eating disorder, Cancer, and Infertility

orlagal's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.75

Really enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infertility, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Violence, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Bullying, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Infidelity

Moderate: Slavery, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Violence, and Drug abuse

Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

louisecalder's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I found the book rather hard reading at the start due to the disjointed text. It grows on you and it is well worth the perseverance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Sexual assault

Moderate: Lesbophobia and Transphobia

Minor: Slavery

laynie_rearick's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Colonisation, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Transphobia

Minor: Slavery