Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

71 reviews

jammoriar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Slavery, Sexual assault, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence

kateyoutka's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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

I had to sit on this one for a while before I was ready to review it. 

Wow. 

Robert Jones, Jr., doesn't waste a single word. Every sentence is purposeful and loaded with emotion, and Jones, Jr.'s writing is lyrical and stunning. This book is mostly a love story between two young enslaved men on a plantation, but it's also a story of the community surrounding them, the brutality of slavery, found family and religion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Slavery

jaytongue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

This book deals with something no other book I've read really does, which is the violation of the sexual autonomy of slaves in the Antebellum American South. The central conflict is a relationship between two enslaved boys that should not exist, and exists in defiance of the fact that they were purchased in order to be bred, as all slaves were expected to be as part of a return on investment. The resulting narrative is one that explores the true horrors of slavery in the America, as well as the twisted mentalities of dehumanization and gross disregard for human dignity that justified it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

peachani's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Death, Excrement, Suicide, Cursing, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Vomit, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcohol, Genocide, Infertility, and Sexual content

burnourhistory's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Body horror

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

ladygetslit's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

3.75

This is a powerful book filled with so much pain. It’s definitely worth reading, but I can’t say that I enjoyed reading it. My main complaints: there are so many characters and they each seem to want their chance to shine, which is not my favorite style of storytelling; also, the whole book felt very heavy-handed, like it was trying really hard to be Important Literature. I would’ve enjoyed this more if it focused purely on Isaiah and Samuel’s relationship, or even a comparison between them and their ancestors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Rape, Racial slurs, Violence, Colonisation, Blood, and Sexual assault

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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? No

3.5

This was a very hard read. I think a lot of it went over my head honestly. The time of enslaved people with absolutely no holding back and no filters. I was constantly in tears or sick to my stomach. Which is definitely the seeming point. Isaiah and Samuel find love only again to be ripped apart. There was never going to be a happy ending during this time. It’s just all pain. Which makes it a hard, but necessary read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, and Racial slurs

ayannasarah's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Racism, Sexual assault, and Slavery