Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

11 reviews

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

storielore's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Death, Animal death, Mass/school shootings, and Child death

m_papaya's review

4.0

Bleak, violent, read in one sitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Torture, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Child death, and Abortion

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Islamophobia

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

emory's review

challenging dark reflective tense

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Abortion, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Gun violence

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

adamnoel's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• 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

I really enjoyed this book. Some stories sincerely left me breathless. Obviously, they're horror stories, but this was horror not meant to scare the reader, but to leave them truly horrified. More than one story left me anxious, almost nauseated as I contemplated them. More than once, I finished the story and had to put the book down and recoup before starting the next. Adjei-Brenyah wonderfully executed what he set out to do, and I look forward to reading his next release. However, not all stories were as strong as others, sometimes by a wide margin. A few left me mystified as to what the point even was. I suppose they could've been grotesque for the sake of it (which is a valid form of horror, don't get me wrong) but in a book that was so clearly centered on social/political commentary and metaphors that beg you to ponder them later, I felt like some were out of place. But overall, I was really impressed, and what few stories I didn't like were outweighed tenfold by how much I enjoyed the others. Adjei-Brenyah has a really intriguing style and his creativity is intense. Definitely give this book a try if you're on the fence about it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abortion, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Racism, Police brutality, Mental illness, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Gore

whatevertheysay's review

• Strong character development? No

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism

danteandvirgil's review

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A strong collection of short stories. Characters all seem to be dealing with grief in some form, be it a person now lost, a life once lived, an emotion once felt. My favorites include "The Hospital Where" and "Through the Flash". 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Cannibalism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death