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hannah_lou's review against another edition
- 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
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
hannah_solly17's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Colonisation, Death, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism
amarachie's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence
nannahnannah's review against another edition
Representation:
- almost every character is Nigerian
I got to page 203 when I got an uncomfortable feeling from the description, “[his] voice was unmistakable; it was vibrantly male …” and had to look Adichie up. Sure enough, this is the transphobic author who, among things like bullying a trans author under her mentorship, approved of Rowling’s "TERF Manifesto”.
I thought I had deleted all her books from my to-read list, but I must have missed this one. Stopping here doesn’t make me upset; I disliked most of the characters in this book and only didn’t mind the rest.
I’d much rather read someone else’s work.
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia and Incest
dianakamau's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.75
Graphic: Rape, War, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
foxo_cube's review against another edition
- 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 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?
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
iloche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexism, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, War, and Violence
darcyparcy's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War
kellyofcali's review against another edition
- 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
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
brogan7's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and War
Very graphic rape scene