Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

3 reviews

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

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

aubrey_cody's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Gripping. Gory. Immersive. Thought provoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Torture, Abortion, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Racism, Murder, and Xenophobia