Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo

20 reviews

joanna_banana's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This took me back to West Africa! Bamana felt most like Ghana and the cultural references aligned linguistically and ethnically with Ghana. However, the place names were from Mali! Threw me off a little. It’s a sweet story of self-discovery and identity. Some good commentary on Western bias. I overall enjoyed it. The audio book was quite a good listen, the narrator did an excellent job differentiating the accents.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Minor: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

basil_touche's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was such a well paced story, with a subtly that really brought the fictional country of Bamana to life. I found it was a breeze to read through while allowing the reader into the headspace of Anna, whose longing for connection was palpable and her decisions, while some I may disagree with, only made her feel more like a real person. Anna's feelings of isolation, of her experiences of racism in the uk, to being seen as a white tourist in Bamana, was heartbreaking and I really wanted to see her have some closure by the end.

Her relationship with her father was interesting and by the end it is left up to the reader to decide if he was the dictator many said he was

tricking Anna into imprisonment does leave some credence but he also freed the country from British rule and does show care to Anna, as examples

. Francis Aggrey or Kofi Adjei?

It is a book about identity, race,  being mixed-race, fatherhood and the impact colonialism has on the countries it has effected. I did find the ending a bit rushed (

although beautiful where Anna meets her ancestors

) and some things weren't as fully explored I as wished but this is still a book I enjoyed very much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Violence, Confinement, and Infidelity

Minor: Slavery, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

lay_kone's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, Confinement, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Animal death

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Police brutality, Eating disorder, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Physical abuse, and Violence

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This story has potential but lacks oomph. It scratches the surface of many interesting and complex topics, but none are explored in depth. 

The main character is immature and the rest are equally unlikeable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Minor: Colonisation, Fatphobia, and War

karmapen's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Dementia

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

 Anna is a middle aged biracial British woman, separated from her husband. When her mother dies she discovers a journal from her father, whom she has never known, detailing his time in the UK when he was a student. Turns out he went on to rule the (fictional) African kingdom of Bamana for over thirty years. Anna makes the snap decision to travel there and meet him. Much of this story is centred on Anna finding herself, with themes like racial identity and family playing key roles. It’s always nice to see a somewhat seasoned character experiencing growth and change. One thing that really stood out for me was the book’s nuanced depiction of her father and, by extension, other African dictators. In the west it feels all too easy to dismiss them solely as corrupt egomaniacs. Yet that ignores the fact that many were (at least initially) legitimately elected and did a lot of good for their countries, not to mention the many issues associated with colonialism and its aftermath. Political questions, morals and ethics aren’t always straightforward. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent and Eating disorder

agnesg's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, and Pregnancy

nicolaparty's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

samarakroeger's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

I did not vibe with the last third of the book but on the whole found it to be a pleasant take on a coming of age novel, but with a middle-aged protagonist who felt adrift in the world. Her emotional distance and numbness was effectively conveyed in the narrative style throughout. (Hard to get attached, though). 

Cool themes but nothing felt hard-hitting (to me, at least). I struggled with the alternative political narrative for some reason (I can only really get around this if it is purely escapist, which this is not). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Eating disorder, and Gaslighting