Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

15 reviews

dosymedia's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Torture

spiritedfaraway's review

dark reflective tense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Xenophobia

Minor: Ableism

defcon's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this retelling of Lovecraftian horror from a modern, Black perspective. There is one major trigger warning I'm adding below related to police brutality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, and Gore

A private detective kills a black man in his own home while he is in bed in a manner similar to what has come out about the murder of Breonna Taylor; local police help the detective cover it up as "self defense".

ehmannky's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This novella was so good that it almost made me want to read the Lovecraft story it was based on, just to get the full scope of the craft that went into turning it here. I loved that LaValle uses this story to just really prod at the terror that white people, from the random lady on the block, to the cops in the force reinforce racial terror that is both targeted (towards all Black folk) and random (it doesn't matter to the white powers that be which Black person dies). There's a lot of power packed in so few pages, and the ending was so moving. I want a book club to discuss the last chapter, because to talk about it here would be a spoiler. But I loved the way it looks at who is a monster and how does a monster (as the dominant society defines it) become into being. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Violence

bookishbutch's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• 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

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Gore, and Hate crime

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Grief and Gun violence