Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt

6 reviews

jayisreading's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I haven’t been this emotionally moved by a book in some time. Belcourt writes with such lyricism and poignancy to explore what I felt were the most prevalent themes: identity and loneliness. Maybe that’s why this book moved me as much as it did, because I think a lot about these things myself, so I felt particularly seen by the author in the way he discusses these themes.

I feel that this book is neither plot- or character-driven. Instead, it’s very focused on asking you to sit with your feelings and… well… feel them. And I know this style of writing won’t work for everyone. I think another aspect that will be a major hit-or-miss is the numerous references that Belcourt makes to literary thinkers and theorists throughout his novel. Personally, I loved it. It brought so much of the protagonist’s way of thinking and being together in a complex and meaningful way.

I highlighted a lot of passages in this book, just because so much of the protagonist’s meditations left a lasting impression that, in some ways, hit close to home. I truly look forward to reading more of Belcourt’s works.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Homophobia, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual content and Addiction

Minor: Genocide, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

kirkspockreads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Colonisation, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage

danaaliyalevinson's review

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

An indigenous Cree gay man returns home to gather the stories of those he grew up with as part of an academic project. There’s a lot I loved about the book. The characters were well written. The prose was poetic. For me, it felt like a cross between Anna Hogeland’s “The Long Answer” and Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous”. The latter is referenced in the text itself as well as in the acknowledgments. And sometimes I felt it was a little bit too close in form and structure. The other thing is that the main character is in academia, and in the beginning of the book, there’s a lot of dialogue that felt self-referential and intentional in its usage of in academia theoretical frameworks that aren’t necessarily accessible. It did feel like a choice, but sometimes I felt the moments where the book was getting into theory could’ve bridged the gap a bit more to make those passages more accessible for those who don’t have backgrounds in the theories being discussed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Animal death, Genocide, Rape, Colonisation, Mental illness, Addiction, Classism, and Sexual assault

prairieraven's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Genocide, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

lowbrowhighart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity

laurareads87's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

“Rather than change the world, a novel could index a longing for something else, for a different arrangement of bodies, feelings, and environments in which human flourishing wasn’t inhibited for the marginalized, which seemed as urgent an act of rebellion as any.” 

One of my most anticipated releases of 2022. Billy Ray Belcourt’s skill as a poet shines in his novel A Minor Chorus as I knew it would — this book is stunning. Following an unnamed queer Cree narrator who pauses his PhD dissertation work to travel to the rez where he grew up to conduct research for a novel, A Minor Chorus is deeply affecting book that turns a critical and self-reflexive eye to the novel, as a form, and its possibilities. Through a series of encounters with family members, friends, lovers, and strangers, the narrator offers an account which is simultaneously literary, philosophical, and deeply political. Incredible. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing an ARC in exchange for this review. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Grief, Genocide, and Colonisation

Minor: Terminal illness