Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

9 reviews

cheazcakeguy's review

challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a collection of short speculative fiction. There is a decent amount of variety, but there are a few stories that tackle similar themes/topics, especially consumerism and racism. Many of the stories are set in a world similar to our own, where one or more aspects of our own world have been exaggerated to the point of absurdity. As a result, the stories often have an extremely dark sense of humor and expose the absurdity inherent in real-world concepts like racism, violence, consumerism, and truth. Some of the stories have a different tone, but I never quite felt the emotional weight behind the ones with a more pensive, poignant feel. To me, the writing was much better at evoking feelings of rage, shock, despair, and defiance than sadness or regret.

Some stories were more interesting than others. A couple were a bit dull, but my favorites were the ones that really leaned in to the ridiculousness. I especially liked The Finkelstein 5, Friday Black, Zimmer Land, and Through the Flash. Nothing really blew me away, but this book was certainly unique and unexpected. Overall, this is a pretty thought-provoking, well-written collection of stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Torture, Cannibalism, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Police brutality, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

A brilliant surrealist, satirical exploration of racial suffering, resistance, consumerism and economic materialism. I'm looking forward to picking up Chain-Gang All Stars after this experience. 

The Finkelstein 5 - 4.5 stars

Things My Mother Said - 4.25 stars

The Era - 4.5 stars

Lark Street - 4 stars

The Hospital Where - 4.25 stars

Zimmer Land - 4.75 stars

Black Friday - 5 Stars

The Lion & The Spider - 4 stars

Light Spitter - 4.25 stars

In Retail - 3.75 stars

Through The Flash - 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Gun violence, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

sarah984's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

Some of the stories in this collection were phenomenal, visceral writing - speculative fiction at its very best - but the rest varied between forgettable and downright bad. I would say it's worth it for the good ones.

Favourites: Through the Flash, Zimmer Land, Friday Black, The Finkelstein Five

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Child death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Ableism, Abortion, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cannibalism, and Child abuse

bay22's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Police brutality, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Animal death, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Addiction, and Child abuse

Minor: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed each of the story stories. They were really attention grabbing and different from one another, but still displaying similar messages to the reader.
I'm not often drawn to short stories and if this wasn't a group read, I don't think I would have found and read this. I'm glad that I did get a chance to be introduced to this book and will have to keep an eye on the author for any upcoming writing he has.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Abortion, Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse and Racial slurs

emily_mh's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Abortion, Body horror, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Child death, Death, Cursing, Gun violence, and Torture

Moderate: Gore, Body shaming, Medical content, Blood, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Ableism, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Rape

Minor: Misogyny, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Vomit, Cancer, Islamophobia, and Death of parent

Lynching, colourism, loss of a loved one (including a child), eugenics, menstruation, trampling, sick parent, homophobic slur, nuclear bombing

booksthatburn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

FRIDAY BLACK is a finely constructed collection of stories which range from simply invoking a certain kind of Black and American existence, to ones where the premise is inextricable from the intersection of these identities. 

Some of them have not literally happened but feel like they could if reality got just a little bit worse (or, more awfully, like they’re already here). Others are more speculative, requiring some shift in reality in order to be plausible, or being altogether impossible. In all of them, the relevant social and existential rules are deftly conveyed to build tiny pockets of a different space, in which a story is told that believes its own premise unabashedly and wholeheartedly. 

Three of the stories have a shared underlying reality, but I’m not certain whether the others are meant to be connected with them or not. None of the premises are mutually exclusive, but a few would definitely be oddly paired if they canonically coexist. My favorites are “Zimmer Land” (for the way it shows the precarious position of a marginalized employee in a job which objectifies his existence even as it exploits his identity), Friday Black” (for making shopping feel like a zombie story), and “Through the Flash” (for unflinchingly capturing the potential and inevitability of brutality in a certain kind of time loop).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Abortion

hpfan9501's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Medical content, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

As with most collections of short stories, these were very hit-or-miss for me. They range from magical realism to complete sci-fi, with quite a bit of variation. I appreciate that  Adjei-Brenyah was not afraid to get experimental and strange. 

Unfortunately, the last story now exists in my worst nightmares and intrusive thoughts, so reader discretion is advised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Grief, and Sexual content

Not all content warnings apply to all stories. Unfortunately I don't have access to a copy anymore, so I can't give a more detailed breakdown.