Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

En halv gul sol by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

41 reviews

nanc_282's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Using different narrators, the story recounts the experience of people living through the rise and collapse of the state of Biafra in the 1960s. It is educative about the ideals that led to the formation of the state and harrowing in the account of how the subsequent war effected their lives. Powerful and well-written it offers insights into the experience of conflict through different eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Colonisation, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Grief

mrslindseypruitt's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Body horror, Rape, Child death, Excrement, Infidelity, and Police brutality

mahinamahina's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism and Rape

hannah_lou's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism

nadia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

I really liked this book! As someone who avoids reading the blurbs, I had no idea where it was going to take me, but I was drawn in from the opening pages, immediately transported to a 1960s Nigeria.

I struggled a little with the time jumps and what had already happened or not, and I also struggled to keep the politics straight, but I think the latter is on me a little! I've read two books back-to-back, unintentionally (but fortunately!) featuring the Biafran War and I already feel like I've learned a fair amount about it. I also felt like my intrigue dipped a little at some point in the middle, but it picked back up again.

The writing and character depictions were great!

I'm reading Adichie's novels in chronological order, so this is the second, and my current fave, over Purple Hibiscus! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Gun violence, and War

foxo_cube's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.75

I loved this book!

I will start of by saying I know very little about the Nigerian civil war - this was my first time reading about it at all, but I am grateful that the author included a list of books she used as reference material because I am interested in reading non-fiction on the topic now.

The characters within this were, I think, brilliantly crafted. They were introduced, typically, with a basic set of traits, but develop into people who feel real: people with idiosyncracies, and prejudices they trip themselves up on, and fallibility. There are no wholly good or bad people, and the feelings characters have towards each other are often complex.

The interaction between small-scale, interpersonal drama and traumas and the big-scale social tensions is very well-balanced, I felt, and the responses to the horrors of the war (and pre-war massacres) shown by the characters feel thought-out.

The ending felt almost anti-climactic, I will say, but then I suppose that's pretty realistic too, isn't it? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Genocide, Alcohol, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was lent this book, and I'm so happy because I loved it! While fiction, it was set amidst the Nigerian Civil War, which I did not know much about, an encouraged me to explore that history. On top of that, the wonderful, strong characters and their interpersonal story was gripping, sad, and real. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Genocide, Rape, Hate crime, Violence, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Racism, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Infidelity

aseel_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

this book is haunting. i am so glad it exists, the story needs to be told but i definitely don't feel comfortable rating it. the only thing i can say is that the writing was phenenomal, just completely captivating, it didn't feel like you were reading at all. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Police brutality, Blood, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, War, Vomit, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Colonisation, and Genocide

rchristine11's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I would not recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, War, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Gun violence, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Gore, Child death, Classism, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death and Abortion

perfectphlaws's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It was a well written book, but reminded me why I don't usually stray too far from romance. So much rape. War is ugly indeed, maybe I'll just read about it in the news rather than rehashing past horrors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexism, War, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Blood, and Chronic illness