Reviews with content warning for Classism - Stories From the Tenants Downstairs

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Stories From the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana

9 reviews

virgcole398's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I listened to it on audiobook. All the narrators did an amazing job!

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annamary54's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

This book is fantastic, I will definitely be recommending to everyone. Each characters struggle to just survive in the face of gentrification, and how their stories crossover is so captivating. These characters had so much perspective, it felt like I knew them. The chapter “Lite Feet” especially got to me, I was not expecting that. (iykyk) My other favorites were “Ms. Dallas,” “Camaraderie,” and “Federation for the Like-minded.” This book also captures the english language in a way that is rarely used in literature. Some of the best writing I’ve encountered on my current reading kick. I will say I struggled to get into the book since it’s not very plot driven (and I like a plot heavy book), but once I understood the flow of it I really enjoyed it. Especially once I reached “Ms. Dallas,” I couldn’t put it down.

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brittanykroeckel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I’ll start off with why I didn’t give a 5– the format for me was hard to follow. I often need structure in my reading cause I tend to lose track and get distracted. So it was a slight challenge and new for me but it doesn’t take away from the book.

This was a great book and I’m glad I finally got it off my tbr!!! I liked how each of the stories was connected to a previous character in one way or another. It felt like a domino effect but not too forced either. I think this is a great book club read as it made me reflect on the challenges they were facing and how these are reflected in the lives of others different from myself. Although each was a short story, I easily felt emotions for these characters and reactions to their individual things going on. I’d recommend this to anyone!!

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cassy_smith's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. Highly recommend the audiobook too. Each section is read by a different person and it really brings the stories to life.

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salemander's review against another edition

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4.5

very beautifully written and tragic collection of stories. wasn’t a fan of the language and treatment of the chinese characters in one of the stories, it really wasn’t necessary. the mrs. davis and litefeet chapters made me so fucking sad for those kids, the education system is so fucked and i know those stories came from real experiences. overall a very interesting book and the way it was written phonetically was really cool!

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kimveach's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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? Yes

4.0

I don't know how to review this. It was vivid, raw, and disturbing. So I didn't "like" it, but I'm glad I listened to it. If you want to understand how privileged you are, this book will help. It's a series of monologs - better to listen to than read.

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brianneh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad

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

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badmom's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Intriguing set of vignettes centered on people living in/associated with a Harlem apartment building targeted for gentrification. The characters’ flaws are highlighted but with loving care; they struggle because they’re at the mercy of a racist & classist system.

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cadence99's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.0

A good book, which is definitely enhanced by an audiobook read, due to the multiple narrators used to depict each character. My main complaint is one of personal taste: I’m finding that I’m not a huge fan of fiction that only spends small chunks of time with each character- I am always left wanting more, feeling as if I’m missing so much of each persons story- overall, still a good read.

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