Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Zřídlo by Akwaeke Emezi

43 reviews

rynstagram's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

This was a book like no other and I’m so glad I read it even tho it took me a minute to get into it. The choice to end the story in Ada’s voice was super powerful, and the essay included at the end of this edition made me appreciate the form of the novel even more. This book challenges all sorts of things that are accepted as normal and real. It made me confront things I believed to be true that I only believed because they were my experience. Selfhood is different for everyone and this is a glimpse into one character’s (and author’s) journey into embracing their own version of selfhood. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence

mfieldshalva's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Child death, and Car accident

brogan7's review against another edition

Too much pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Mental illness

candycain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Abortion and Addiction

beckybirch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse

giulia_and_books's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

moonlitemuseum's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

As soon as I finished Freshwater I knew that I would be chewing the fat of it in my brain for months, and resigned myself to the fact that I would be rereading it within months -- it was hard, honestly, not to begin re-reading it right away. 

Emezi's prose sizzles and burns, writhes into your brain and sets off sparks; the fracturing of the protagonist's identity from birth is told with religious reverence, the traumas Ada faces are perfect horror, and the tenacity and vivaciousness of Asughara feels raw, clear and justified.

Ada's personalities are communicated with clarity and intimacy, and the collective's struggle to be seen, to wrestle with Ada's alleged destiny and her desire to be human is heartrending.

This novel is unforgettable but it is brutal and it is precise. I had to read it in several sittings due to the intensity of what is depicted within it, but the time spent with it was incredible, and I think it is well worth the time to sink into Ada's identity and learn the leylines of her inner mythology.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Body horror, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence

Ableism is referenced frequently due to the lack of understanding of Ada's alternate identities.

womanwill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Transphobia

Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma

emfass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

It is hard to capture my feelings about this book - maybe I will come back and share more thoughts when I've processed a bit. 

I am close to someone who experiences dissociative identity disorder, and while I don't want to compare their experience to a culture/ontology/spirituality I know nothing about and the parallels and contrasts therein, I will also say that this book was both incredibly profound and challenging to read, due to how closely it seems to reflect some of my friend's experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Homophobia