Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

12 reviews

2treads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The ways in which Spires tackles the issues of race, class and preferences here aren't new but there is a certain spin that she has brought to each character and their story which makes them fresh and lends a certain resonance as the reader interacts with and responds to each person and their individuality within their environment. She is allowing her characters to be themselves in all their beauty, with all their flaws, either reckoning with or accepting themselves as they are.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Grief, Body shaming, Bullying, Self harm, Stalking, and Police brutality

happyblkhippie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-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 a random pick of short stories that was meant to help break up the heavy, dense sociology books I've been reading recently, but ended up being different than I thought. However I enjoyed it more than thought I would. It's fairly quick and what I really like about it being short stories is you can read them in any order if you want. A few of them do have some overlap with characters. 

It's definitely witty, dark, satire and makes you laugh, but not in a hahaha way more like a snicker. I found the characters to be quite the bunch of irreverent, sometimes cringe, insufferable and beautifully flawed people. 

My Fave shorts

• Fátima: The Bilquist: A Transformation Story 
• Suicide Watch
• Belles Lettres
• The Subject of Consumption 
• Whisper to a Scream

I enjoyed how the author showed a range of different nuanced experiences of Black people and the Black experience from a middle and upper class perspective. It does tackle some heavier topics in a satirical way, but check the trigger warnings. Overall it's a good niche selection of shorts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Classism, Gaslighting, Body shaming, and Bullying

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Infertility, Medical content, Torture, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity

crazytourists_books's review

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories (some of them connected, in one way or another). 
Fresh, vivid, nicely written, with well.wotked out characters, about the experience of being black and a whole lot of other things; from family and work relationdiships, trauma, bullying, ableism and being disabled, social media, suicide...
My favourite stories were the first (that shares its title with the collection) and the last; they both broke my heart...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Death, Police brutality, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.25

Smart, dark, and humorous, this was a really fascinating collection of short stories that had me snickering one moment, followed by a heartbroken sigh. Thompson-Spires has a vibrant cast of characters, some making reappearances, that reveals the struggles of modern Black Americans in various spaces. I was really drawn to the the decisions Thompson-Spires seems to have made to create Black characters taking part in activities and be in careers that so frequently exclude them. Whether it be anime or academia, it was wonderful that she never failed to assert the presence of Black people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Ableism, Death, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gun violence and Eating disorder

Minor: Suicide and Fatphobia

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

madelinequinne's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. It was very informative about the lives of black people in this day and age, and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I definitely recommend to anyone interested in reading about the experiences of black people in the modern world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

ebonykashan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Police brutality, Mental illness, and Death

foxowl2005's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-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

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Child abuse

auntleona's review against another edition

dark funny 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: Police brutality, Racism, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment

lwalla01's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

I don’t know how to rate this book, because I can’t tell how much satire is in this book. Some sections of this book left me uncomfortable as a disabled person, but I’m not sure who this book was written for exactly. I appreciated the diversity of the Black experience that was highlighted in this book, but I wonder if more sensitivity could have been given to those whose Blackness intersects with other identities? Or was it meant to look at the absurdity of how Blackness can still work to oppress otherness through lateral oppression? I need to read some more think pieces before I make a final decision about my rating or even my full thoughts on this collection. The writing and narration of the audiobook are great though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Child abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Murder, and Police brutality