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fieldofhats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This was one of the more entertaining and exciting texts I have read for my Brit Lit class, though I don’t feel comfortable giving it more than 2 stars. I think this may have been very progressive for the early 18th century, but it’s very racist in the modern sense, which is uncomfortable at the very least. Oroonoko is constantly praised for his western features and interests, and it’s implied that he’s only beautiful because of that. And, through a series of nonsensical contrivances, he is “forced” to kill his wife and then brutally torture himself in a fit of insanity, before he is eventually put to death. This was one of the worst endings I have ever read in a book, period. Aphra Behn was going for an honor-bound duty-or-death type of thing, but it didn’t work because it wasn’t necessary. He didn’t need to kill his wife (or himself, though that’s at least a common literary theme) to take revenge. One might say that this is just a product of its time and that this is how all premodern literature is, but I call bullshit on that. In the literary world Shakespeare, the King Arthur myths, The Canterbury Tales, etc., this was just plain bad.
Graphic: Classism, Racism, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, and Self harm
question47's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Graphic: War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Deportation, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Colonisation, Body horror, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Gore, Classism, Racism, Self harm, and Trafficking
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
The story is a very graphic depiction of an enslaved person's life on a plantation in the 1680s. And you get a cross section of everything that comes with that. The last third is especially difficult to get through. From a purely academic perspective, it's a good representation of early white supremacy, colonialism, slavery, the slave trade, racism, bigotry, misogyny, etc. And all within just sixty pages.
Don't read this book if you don't have to.
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
mariekeroos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Racism, and Slavery
lquel's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs