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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
8 reviews
withlivjones's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A wonderfully written collection of short stories. Babalola excels in all kinds of settings, genres, and narration styles, and each tale is packed with heart and prose that reads like poetry. Although I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the original myths, I was impressed by how easy it was to follow the stories regardless. I love how the women in these retellings are given the agency that they lack in the original versions so that even the stories written in a historical setting feel modern. I also really liked the full circle moment of the final story.
I only wish that these short stories were longer - sometimes things moved quite quickly, and for a book that is about the intricacies of romance, I would have loved for some of these romances to have been explored in more depth and detail. I would honestly read an entire novel about Babalola’s version of Nefertiti!
I only wish that these short stories were longer - sometimes things moved quite quickly, and for a book that is about the intricacies of romance, I would have loved for some of these romances to have been explored in more depth and detail. I would honestly read an entire novel about Babalola’s version of Nefertiti!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Car accident
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
kassidypf13's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Racism, Hate crime, Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs
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
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
emfass's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I am a HUGE fan of fairy tale/mythology retellings, so there was a good chance I was going to like this anyway. But I was introduced to so many tales I didn't know, PLUS I absolutely adored the way Babalola rewrote stories that are originally misogynistic and occasionally devastating to be hopeful and honor the love story at the center.
I read through the first half of the book rather quickly, trying to meet the deadline for the Bad Bitch Book Club meeting, but over the last few days I have savored the latter half, reading one or two stories a day, and that's my recommendation for anyone else picking this up. (I don't read a lot of short story collections, maybe that's the general approach??)
My favorite stories were:
Scheherazade
Nefertiti
Yaa
Naleli
Thisbe
Tiara
Orin
A few quotes from the introduction that floored me:
I read through the first half of the book rather quickly, trying to meet the deadline for the Bad Bitch Book Club meeting, but over the last few days I have savored the latter half, reading one or two stories a day, and that's my recommendation for anyone else picking this up. (I don't read a lot of short story collections, maybe that's the general approach??)
My favorite stories were:
Scheherazade
Nefertiti
Yaa
Naleli
Thisbe
Tiara
Orin
A few quotes from the introduction that floored me:
Love is the prism through which I view the world. I truly believe it binds and propels us. This isn’t a naive denial of the darkness that we know exists in the world; rather it is a refusal to allow the devastation, the horror, or the heartache to consume us. It is affirming the knowledge that there is light. Love is that light. Romance sweetens the casual bitterness we can encounter; it heightens the mundane and makes the terrestrial supernatural.
Love is tender, tentative, brutal, and bold. It’s messy and magic! It can be the most frightening thing in the world, purely because it feels like safety, and that safety is reliant on total trust in another, with whom we share our hearts, expose ourselves, and allow ourselves to be seen for exactly who we are. But when we allow ourselves to trust like this, there is a freedom that we can attain—a glory. This book is about being seen in all your iterations, in every dynamic, brightly and in color. It’s about the joy and hope that accompany the celebration of that phenomenon.
And from the final story, which is inspired by how her parents met and fell in love:
The eldest of their daughters is so inspired by the king and queen that it forms how she sees the world. She recognizes the mundane mystique of romantic love that is ubiquitous at a glance, but, when you look closer, you notice the tessellation of understanding, patience, friendship, and attraction. She sees both the miracle of the spark igniting and also the working, because it takes work, and for the work to work, you have to respect each other, like each other. She is fascinated by how much romantic love can soften a hard life, highlight the best of you, not condemn the worst of you. It is a gift she cherished witnessing with the king and queen, and so she made it her mission to capture a little of it and gift it to others: the hope of it all, the light of it all.
Time was constructed with love in mind. It is why the moments before a desired kiss stretch, why when your lips are finally introduced with another pair, it feels as if they have wanted to meet for some time, and why a day with your loved one can feel like an eternity on turbo-speed. Achingly, deliciously slow, but too fast, over too quick, melting between too-hot fingers. Time and love are intertwined, they are both measures of life, they are the two clocks. And, for love to operate as it should, it is imperative that the timing should be right. Just as it is in this story.
Lastly, I think this is one of the most gorgeous covers I have ever seen. 😍😍😍
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
mandkips's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Racism, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Murder
eloiseisreading's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
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