Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
3 reviews
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting but I don’t think this was it. I’ve had the physical book on my shelf for a while but I’m so glad I decided to listen to the audiobook instead. Robin Miles is an absolute masterclass is narration and she gave so much depth and nuance to this already powerful story.
While this book is about the Rwandan genocide, not too much detail is provided about the genocide itself; there are plenty of books I’m sure you can read to learn more about it. Of course the author contextualizes it and what happened, but the majority of the book is about the impact of the conflict on her life and the subsequent journey, through many countries, refugee camps, bus rides, generous families and friends, evil guards and immigration police, and ultimately, her life in America. I appreciated in particular Clemantine’s exploration of her feelings of anger, lack of safety, need for survival, and fears of abandonment, and the deconstruction of the role of “refugee” she was meant to play, both on the Oprah show and other instances of tokenization.
I flagged many moments in this book and I can’t wait to go though and annotate them in my physical copy. Obviously there are many trigger warnings for this book but I highly recommend reading, with caution!
While this book is about the Rwandan genocide, not too much detail is provided about the genocide itself; there are plenty of books I’m sure you can read to learn more about it. Of course the author contextualizes it and what happened, but the majority of the book is about the impact of the conflict on her life and the subsequent journey, through many countries, refugee camps, bus rides, generous families and friends, evil guards and immigration police, and ultimately, her life in America. I appreciated in particular Clemantine’s exploration of her feelings of anger, lack of safety, need for survival, and fears of abandonment, and the deconstruction of the role of “refugee” she was meant to play, both on the Oprah show and other instances of tokenization.
I flagged many moments in this book and I can’t wait to go though and annotate them in my physical copy. Obviously there are many trigger warnings for this book but I highly recommend reading, with caution!
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, War, Violence, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Infidelity
funky_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Colonisation, Sexism, and Classism
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I knew going into this book that it was going to be informative and that the subject was going to be harrowing. But I didn't know how engaging the writing was going to be, and I didn't know how much of the book was going to be set after Clemantine received asylum in the US. It adds a certain comfort and safety for the reader to immediately know the family is going to survive. This shifts the focus from placing yourself in the middle of terrible conflict to wider reflections on colonialism, how we treat refugees, and human nature. I don't think this was meant to be an uplifting or optimistic book but it manages to be critical and emotional without being depressing.
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal death
This book discusses the genocide in Rwanda and it doesn't hide much but it also doesn't dwell on the gruesomeness of the violence. Things that happen to the author or her sister are described in past tense. The author discusses sexual violence throughout the book but never a specific incident.
More...