Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

19 reviews

glf's review

dark funny reflective 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

5.0

Every story had me putting the book down and staring into space. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Police brutality

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Sexual violence

j_m_alexander's review against another edition

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

4.25

 Biting, gut-punching short stories that are frighteningly sad and darkly humorous at times. Like all short story collections, this collection is a bit of a mixed bag, some nearly perfect, others falling a slightly short by comparison. The collection started and finished particularly strong - that first short story was a haunting and powerful statement to start with, the final story while similarly startling finished with more of a lingering bitter-sweetness; truly perfect choices to book-end the collection. There were a few others in the latter half that I felt really built on one another in a way I really liked as well. Adjei-Brenyah makes an undeniable impact in a short amount of pages/words, leaning toward dystopian of the rather violent variety. Not every story hits quite a perfect balance but when they do, it's a real triumph and will keep you thinking about them long afterward.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child death, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Death, Physical abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, and Racism

bay22's review

---

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

mackinseyjoy's review

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder, Child death, and Racism

viaviaggi's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Gore, Police brutality, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Death

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.

---

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

---

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

havelock's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence

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!

---

Content Warnings

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