Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

A Planet for Rent by Yoss

3 reviews

innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a challenging collection of short stories. Some are quite horrific. 
I found the parallels between this post-alien contact earth and Cuba quite fascinating, and that is what drove me to finish. 
The things I didn’t like, were the sloppy editing (so many typos), the use of the term “social worker” to describe sex workers, and the really strong sexist tone throughout the book that really dates it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

goatsrsexy's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

Ahhhhh. I didn't know what to expect at all going into this book and I truly feel it was a life changing read. This is a collection of short stories that all take place in the same world with an overarching narrative, which is one of my favourite formats for a novel. 

It takes place in a dystopian future where earth has been colonized and oppressed by the rest of the universe and it's much more technologically advanced beings. It's an analogy for Cuban politics in the 90s which I'll admit I don't know enough about to understand the references, but there's lots I did pick up on, and even without that context the stories are breathtaking.

This book made me laugh, cry and at times feel like I was literally gonna pass out. The world building is immaculate and the characters are so nuanced. No one in this book is really a villain, even if they seem like they might be at first. 

I would recommend reading this book quickly so that you don't forget previous chapters and can recognize recurring characters. I would also recommend checking trigger warnings as there are a LOT. But if you can stomach it, this book is so so so worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Minor: Sexual violence

bonfeld's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

A Planet for Rent is a very straight forward critique of capitalism and life in Cuba under the Castro regime through the metaphor of Earth being colonized by extraterrestrial life. Made up of 7 chapter pairs - each with a short 3-4 page mini chapter and then a 20-30 page short story detailing the experience of a different human, all of which contain references to other characters/stories in a way that connects them all with out being intertwined with each other. It's a thoughtful book that brings issues of colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism to the forefront, specifically looking at the extent people (humans) will go to survive/feel like they have control over their lives. Its message is clear, even if the content itself is unfamiliar. The writing style of each story is very different, which can be a bit jarring, especially since the book is short - you barely have time to get used to it before it's over. A good book for people who like experimental writing, heavy description/internal dialogue type lens. Definitely a book that could use a second read.

My main disappointment was in the last chapter. I was hoping for this last chapter to tie the previous 6 together in some cohesive way. Instead it felt disconnected from the rest and also seemed kind of messed up to present

the sexualization of a 10-year old girl as a coming of age moment for shock value.

The purpose of this could definitely been achieved differently.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

Contains vivid descriptions of body mutilation (by the character themself, but not in a self harm/mental health context) in one chapter. Contains sexualization of minors.