Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi

11 reviews

lbelow's review against another edition

emotional

4.0

I'll admit, I don't think I was the right audience for the more Christian/religious poems. However so many of the other poems moved me deeply. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Cursing, Rape, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Violence, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

dar101's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Violence, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

introvertsbookclub's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

Emezi might be the most unique writer I have ever read, and her poetry felt like a continuation of the style and the voice that they have established in their prose. Within the collection, they created their own world and an expression of their self that was captivating. Some of the poems were thrilling to read in the way that they remade the world in their image, and crafted a new version or reading of familiar myths, stories and experiences. It was a consuming read.

Athough the collection is complex and layered, it also feels accessible. The form is playful and the language is creative, but it isn’t purposefully difficult. The collection feels open despite its specificity; no one else could write these poems but anyone can read them. There is so much pain and grief, but the collection feels liberating, a blazing assertion of self that is impossible to put down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual assault

serenspace's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, and Rape

aglclark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

haleydavis112's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Physical abuse

graceburke's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

4.0

I'm definitely not a poetry person, but I love Emezi, so thought I'd give this a try. Incredibly vulnerable and emotional. My love for Emezi remains strong after this beautiful, concise book of poetry.
My favorites: Disclosure, Sanctuary, I was Born in a Great Length of River, Mourning, and Self-Portrait as an Abuser

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

starrysteph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.25

beautiful. chilling.

CW: rape, self harm, suicide, child abuse, emotional & physical abuse, homophobia, transphobia, death, blood, violence, cannibalism, medical trauma

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Death, Blood, Violence, Rape, Self harm, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Cannibalism

honeyvoiced's review

fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Biphobia

clara_mai's review against another edition

3.0

 I love Akwaeke Emezi's novels Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji and their memoir Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir, not least due to their stunning writing and vivid imagery, so my expectations for their poetry collection were quite high. After reading all the poems in this book I can say that generally, I enjoy the concept of the collection, particularly the series of poems in which the lyrical self is related to the holy family (mary, jesus, joseph, magdalene all appear), more than the actual pieces. Having read their memoir, most of the content of this collection, which is as far as I understand mostly autobiographical, is familiar. I once again felt a deep admiration for Emezi while reading, because they express their identity as well as their traumatic experiences so boldly through art. At the same time, while I found individual lines and images to be striking, many of the poems left me without any particular feeling or a lasting impression. Others that dealt very explicitly with heavy content did certainly leave an impression because of said content but the writing, the poetic technique didn't really. Exceptions for me are self-portrait as an abuser, which is masterfully crafted and extremely effective and the first and last poem of the collection (both part of the "holy family cycle"). All in all this is good, but I would rather recommend Emezi's prose if you've never read anything by them. Lastly, I want to add that I'm really no expert when it comes to poetry, as I don't really write it myself and haven't thoroughly studied it (especially not in English) or even read much of it. This is all just a very subjective take of my experience reading this collection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail