Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

28 reviews

mcnan's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

What an incredible collection. Adjei-Brenyah's work is poignant, sharp, insightful, and simultaneously upsetting and exciting. I was always looking forward to reading more. None of these are weak stories, but my particular favorites were Through the Flash and The Hospital Where. Content warnings are not complete but mention some. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Classism, Hate crime, Bullying, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Abortion

sarahmackenziey's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Cannibalism, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Death, Hate crime, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse

thatokiebird's review against another edition

dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

Friday Black is a short story collection, without a theme yet connected in the tone of each story. They're dark, heavy, tense and dread and despair fill nearly every page. This was definitely not an enjoyable read, yet I'm glad I read it all the same. I enjoy short story collections typically, and this book is filled with interesting view points and alternate histories and I particularly liked the science fiction and dystopian elements.

The author is so imaginative, processing what different realities would look like. From a virtual realty theme park where people go to murder virtually and come back again and again, to an infinite time loop Groundhog day-esque world, where no rules exist anymore because why not. There were only three connected stories of the 12, which follows a two people working retail, one story detailing an alternate Black Friday where deaths add up casually as just a matter-of-fact.

I do want to read the author's full-length novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars, to get a feel of how they write characters over the course of a novel, instead of just in these short 10-15 page vignettes. Also the cover art of this book is stunning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Death, Abortion, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, and Racism

catsbreadbikes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

This book was not for me, but that's my own fault as i didn't seek out any information about the content warnings for this book. It was really well-written, and vivid in detail though! Some of the stories i liked vetter than others, but even when i didn't lile a particular story, it was still worth listening to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, Cursing, Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Racial slurs, Body horror, Xenophobia, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abortion, Homophobia, and War

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

wanderingtones's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Violence, Classism, Racism, and Gore

Moderate: Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

Minor: Mental illness, Torture, and Self harm

kananineko's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Self harm, Gun violence, Abortion, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Racial slurs, Torture, Grief, Drug abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Suicide, and Gore

Minor: Islamophobia, War, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, and Cancer

katepilled's review

challenging dark hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Adjei-Brenyah’s debut collection of short stories is timely and powerful, with his finger on the pulse of racism and late-capitalism in America. Sharp and illuminating read. I highly recommend his parables- except for Lark Street, I admit I simply could not fuck with the talking fetuses.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Body horror, Violence, and Hate crime

hnagarne's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Gore, Abortion, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Violence, Death, Suicide, Police brutality, Hate crime, and Torture

lambchop12's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

It’s hard to find words for this short story collection, to be honest. It feels like what you’d get if you combined Sorry to Bother You and Black Mirror, and I mean that in (mostly) the best way possible. I can’t pick out a favorite story so I’ll just go through some of them and what I liked about them.

Made me the most emotional: “The Lion and the Spider” - I have a rough, weird relationship with my emotionally distant father who has left my family on multiple occasions so this story almost broke me, but also left me hopeful for a better future.

Left me in the most awe: “The Hospital Where” - I love me some good surrealism, okay? And this was just straight up “what’s going on” madness in a good way.

Had me thinking “oh jesus” the most times: “Through the Flash” - very very dark. Worth reading, but it was a smart move to put it at the end because by the time you finish it, you’ll feel a certain amount of emotional exhaustion from just thinking about the trauma the Flash and the following events have had on people. Also another one where the father/child relationship made me emotional.

Made me the maddest at society: “The Finkelstein 5” and “Zimmer Land” - I won’t spoil these, just know that they deal with racism and the unfair deaths of Black people (especially children). Heavy subject matter but meaningful.

Had me the most confused: “Lark Street” - this was the one story I disliked because I couldn’t tell if it was pro-choice or pro-forced birth lol. Interesting premise though.

The rest of the stories are interesting, I just don’t have much to say about them. Very good collection. 9/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Abortion, Child death, Mass/school shootings, and Hate crime

Minor: Adult/minor relationship