Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Death'
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
15 reviews
rafacolog's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Violence, Death, and Body shaming
katiemack's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was such a treat to listen to as folktales told in the oral tradition; I felt like I learned a lot about non-Western stories and mythology. The writing is beautiful and poetic while also incorporating hilariously biting remarks and contemporary references; I'd recommend listening to one story at a time to savor them. Some of the stories are stronger and more effective than others; I also wish there had been more LGBTQ+ romance plots--"Nefertiti" was the only one in the collection. Standout tales for me are "Osun," "Scheherazade," "Attem," and "Nefertiti." The last story, "Alagomeji," is about Bolu Babalola's parents, which is sweet and touching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Torture, and Bullying
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Smart, creative, super interesting short story retellings of myths from around the world, cast into empowering, hopeful love stories from a British-West African perspective.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Sexual content
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
emotional
fast-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? It's complicated
2.5
This book sounded like the perfect fit for me: diverse retellings of mythological stories from around the world? Sign me up! Unfortunately, despite the lovely writing style, the execution on the retellings was lacking. A great mythological retelling has to be clever; the author must take the recognizable elements of a story and transpose them in some way—a new setting, a new conflict, gender-swapping the characters—all while retaining enough of the essence to make them feel familiar to the readers.
For most of these stories, Babalola simply put the characters in modern settings and gave them modern jobs. Many of them lost their gifts, powers, or anything else that made them unique; only the names made them recognizable to the reader. All of the stories started to blend together and feel the same, which is a shame considering their diverse origins. The stories that really worked either had enough of the original situations to be fun and interesting (like Thisbe) or had an unexpected twist that kept me engaged (like Nefertiti). Overall, I think Babalola is a talented writer, but this anthology could have been greatly improved if there were multiple authors invited to put their own twists on these classic myths.
For most of these stories, Babalola simply put the characters in modern settings and gave them modern jobs. Many of them lost their gifts, powers, or anything else that made them unique; only the names made them recognizable to the reader. All of the stories started to blend together and feel the same, which is a shame considering their diverse origins. The stories that really worked either had enough of the original situations to be fun and interesting (like Thisbe) or had an unexpected twist that kept me engaged (like Nefertiti). Overall, I think Babalola is a talented writer, but this anthology could have been greatly improved if there were multiple authors invited to put their own twists on these classic myths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Infidelity
my_plant_library's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Torture, Bullying, and Body shaming
Minor: Racial slurs and Misogyny
obfuscatress's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.75
Vibrant and warm. Like a kaleidoscope, this anthology shifts all the age-old familiarity of romance and myth into something that's tangible in the modern age.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
spinesinaline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
This was so delightful! It’s billed as romance short stories, though heads up that these aren’t all straight romance as they don’t all have happy endings.
I love retellings and Babalola has such an immersive and creative way of retelling these stories, not to mention the added agency that she gives the female characters. Her intention in empowering the women in these tales is immediately clear and it gives the stories so much more depth. She also highlights a lot of folk tales that aren’t well-known in the Western world, particularly African legends, so it’s a chance for new audiences to engage with these stories.
Personal favourites were “Naleli” for a truly inventive take on the original and “Thisbe” for the cute university twist on the crack in the wall.
I love retellings and Babalola has such an immersive and creative way of retelling these stories, not to mention the added agency that she gives the female characters. Her intention in empowering the women in these tales is immediately clear and it gives the stories so much more depth. She also highlights a lot of folk tales that aren’t well-known in the Western world, particularly African legends, so it’s a chance for new audiences to engage with these stories.
Personal favourites were “Naleli” for a truly inventive take on the original and “Thisbe” for the cute university twist on the crack in the wall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Car accident
sydneybedell's review
emotional
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming and Bullying
Minor: Infidelity and Misogyny
valereads's review
funny
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: War, Police brutality, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Murder
kathleencoughlin's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I thought this collection had some really interesting short stories in it. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but I felt like the fact that these were branded as contemporary retellings of historical/mythical romances actually took away from it a little. The stories are sufficiently different, that I don't think that branding was necessary and ultimately it became somewhat distracting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Racism
Minor: Infidelity