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auteaandtales's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
This was such a powerful story! I really enjoyed it, for the most part. It was very raw and emotional, yet somehow still quite funny in parts. As a white person myself, it was insightful in the life of a gay black man who grew up in a highly religious and abusive family, and what it was like to be a sex worker in the 2000’s. I believe this is Paul’s true story, told through Jesse, and I always find true (even semi-true) books hard to review, like reviewing someone’s personal life, but it was well written.
My negatives though that I feel need to be said is that I found it odd how someone who is clearly intelligent, well read and educated and heavily left wing could still be fatphobic. It wasn’t frequent but it was frequent enough, and I expected it to be addressed or something at some point but it never was. He mentioned when someone was thin once as a positive, but all the occasions he mentioned someone was fat it was done negatively.
I also didn’t like that it kept bouncing between timelines, by the end of the book it wasn’t as hard to follow but especially to begin with it was hard to know where we were in Jesse’s life and when.
Definitely one to read for those interested! A solid four star read for me, I think.
My negatives though that I feel need to be said is that I found it odd how someone who is clearly intelligent, well read and educated and heavily left wing could still be fatphobic. It wasn’t frequent but it was frequent enough, and I expected it to be addressed or something at some point but it never was. He mentioned when someone was thin once as a positive, but all the occasions he mentioned someone was fat it was done negatively.
I also didn’t like that it kept bouncing between timelines, by the end of the book it wasn’t as hard to follow but especially to begin with it was hard to know where we were in Jesse’s life and when.
Definitely one to read for those interested! A solid four star read for me, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abandonment and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Dementia, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
nialiversuch's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
smblanc1793's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.0
I’d like to specify that this rating is for me personally, not speaking to the overall quality of the book, but to how I personally felt about it. I think I went into this book expecting more of a conversation around sexuality and religion, more about Jesse and his former life, rather than his life after moving to London. The graphic nature of the sex scenes, while I respect them as a bold and radical choice on the author’s part, are not my cup of tea.
Overall, I felt it to be a bit slow, a bit meandering and melancholic, and a bit difficult to get into for me personally. That being said, I am glad I read it; I think the topics it deals with are important, its characters raw and real, and its prose is polished and emotional. Cover gets five stars tho. 10/10. Could stare at it for hours.
Overall, I felt it to be a bit slow, a bit meandering and melancholic, and a bit difficult to get into for me personally. That being said, I am glad I read it; I think the topics it deals with are important, its characters raw and real, and its prose is polished and emotional. Cover gets five stars tho. 10/10. Could stare at it for hours.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Racism
ljeffbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
Minor: Homophobia
leahfigiel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
timbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Homophobia
thelightabyss's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Graphic: Sexual content and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Drug use, and Racial slurs
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
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
Rainbow Milk is a semi-autobiographical novel exploring the intersection of race, sexuality, class, and religion. Jesse is a young Black gay man who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and grew up in an abusive home with a white step-father. The clash between the faith he was raised in and his sexuality results in Jesse being kicked out of both church and home and moving to London. His life there initially makes for very tough reading - lots of fairly graphic descriptions of sexual encounters that were unhealthy both physically and emotionally. An injury forces Jesse to rethink how he is living and art plus a chance encounter offer him another way forward.
Although most of the novel centres on Jesse it actually opens nearly 50 years earlier. Norman Alonso and his wife Claudette are part of the Windrush generation, trying their best to make a good life for their family despite the blatant racism they sometimes face. The eventual connection between the two storylines provides a satisfying conclusion to the book.
This book was unflinching and confronting in places which made for uncomfortable reading. Thankfully the ending had Jesse in a healthier and safer environment, seemingly more at peace with who he was. It was a rough journey but the destination made it worthwhile. That was true for me as a reader; my hope is that it is equally true for all the real life Jesses in the world.
Although most of the novel centres on Jesse it actually opens nearly 50 years earlier. Norman Alonso and his wife Claudette are part of the Windrush generation, trying their best to make a good life for their family despite the blatant racism they sometimes face. The eventual connection between the two storylines provides a satisfying conclusion to the book.
This book was unflinching and confronting in places which made for uncomfortable reading. Thankfully the ending had Jesse in a healthier and safer environment, seemingly more at peace with who he was. It was a rough journey but the destination made it worthwhile. That was true for me as a reader; my hope is that it is equally true for all the real life Jesses in the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
jbraith's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
novellenovels's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Sexual assault