Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

73 reviews

badmom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Robert Jones Jr. weaves an ultimately gorgeous tapestry from an ugly point in history using  the voices of enslaved people, their African ancestors, and the enslavers. The language is poetic throughout, drawing reality truthfully yet landing on the ways people rose above, how they survived and dreamed and loved, and created the life they deserved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Classism, Racial slurs, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Outing, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Religious bigotry, Excrement, Alcohol, Ableism, Genocide, Suicide, Miscarriage, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Cannibalism

kirstenf's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Blood, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Trafficking

Minor: Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Infidelity, Colonisation, and Pregnancy

emmajwalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Classism, Physical abuse, Rape, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery

aljackson's review against another edition

The slow pace, changing perspectives, and poetics made the story difficult to follow and get into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

desdemonarose's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

5.0

This is a dark book, it is about two gay men who are also slaves. The book doesn't soften the horrors of slavery at all. Along with those expected challenges, they are also gay in a society where not everyone among the slaves accepts them. So, they have that added challenge. Which, before I read this book I had not even thought of how much more difficult slavery must have been for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The writing is very well done, Jones captures the different cultures of his characters and their backgrounds well in it. It's not a easy read in terms of subject matter, but I think it's important to face those tough topics, unless it's especially triggering. I'm not a POC, but from my limited view, Jones does seem to tackled the topic really well and it gave me a lot to think about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Death

atamano's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Trafficking, Homophobia, Murder, Slavery, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Death, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Body horror, Classism, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Excrement

babeinlibrary's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit

mackenzienoelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

The audiobook narrator was incredible. It’s hard for me to judge how fast or slow this book was just because audiobooks go really fast for me. Strong strong content warnings on this one but it was so beautiful and important to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Sexual content, Trafficking, Genocide, Racism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape

Moderate: Sexism, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Excrement, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-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

3.0

This was drenched in sadness but using metaphor and purple prose ish ~ poetic language, it doesn’t fully hit you until certain scenes. The depiction of the events of life in a plantation in Mississippi were uncomfortable at times - content / trigger warning include - rape (not just done by the father but by the son as well) abuse (physical / verbal and emotional) as well as other incidences of belittling the slaves. Isaiah and Samuel are supposed to be the center of this story but we get very little in their pov. Instead we receive other viewpoints, and it turns out the head of the plantation is upset that Isaiah and Samuel aren’t producing children to supplement the “growth” So Amos, an older slave, tries to get the people to go against the duo in exchange for no harm to go to Essie ( even though Amos is unfaithful to her) it’s not homosexuality that Amos / Paul is against but the preaching of homophobia. Case in point, Tim (slave master’s son) is aware he too isn’t straight and tries to experiment with Isaiah and Samuel. If we didn’t get so many POV’s (despite the short chapters)my feelings might have changed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content

botanbibliophile's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Death