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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Penguin Readers Level 7: Homegoing (ELT Graded Reader) by Yaa Gyasi
241 reviews
shlymiller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, War, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy and Suicide
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
This author could not go a single chapter with talking about women’s breasts and that’s before the one chapter where a man uses at least a. Paragraph to describe the ass of the woman he married and after she is kidnapped into slavery after the fugitive slave act is passed he literally sees her in other women regardless of ass based on if they have a big ass to the point a woman catches his attention to slap him for staring. On that end while a book that discusses Africans who will become Ghanaians and Americans will cover and discuss violence of all sorts into black Women especially sexual a lot of the violence to women in the book felt contrived and not taken that seriously or confused inherently for depth.
Many of the chapters felt like they were shoehorning American milestones or historical events or topics surrounding racism. As well as in my opinion using Ghanaian faith and religion at multiple points it mystically move a plot point forward the author clearly wrote herself into a corner for. I hated the mother burning all of her children but one alive scene in a dream, bc I don’t think the book took the murder of the daughters seriously especially to insist spirits made her do it when she literally did not know she did it. Also at times her protagonists had very ahistorical social norms where they’d either be the most special or educated or the most suffering or ostracized person among their environmental or all those things at once while clearly trying to represent general Ghanaian and Black American history it was very lazy and off putting to see constantly.
After reading it I’m not surprised to see a lot of reviews by Ghanaian nationals disliking the book or thinking it’s at least a mess of the Ghanaian cutler and history it tries to represent.
Many of the chapters felt like they were shoehorning American milestones or historical events or topics surrounding racism. As well as in my opinion using Ghanaian faith and religion at multiple points it mystically move a plot point forward the author clearly wrote herself into a corner for. I hated the mother burning all of her children but one alive scene in a dream, bc I don’t think the book took the murder of the daughters seriously especially to insist spirits made her do it when she literally did not know she did it. Also at times her protagonists had very ahistorical social norms where they’d either be the most special or educated or the most suffering or ostracized person among their environmental or all those things at once while clearly trying to represent general Ghanaian and Black American history it was very lazy and off putting to see constantly.
After reading it I’m not surprised to see a lot of reviews by Ghanaian nationals disliking the book or thinking it’s at least a mess of the Ghanaian cutler and history it tries to represent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Racism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Slavery, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexism
Moderate: Drug use, Confinement, Child abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Infidelity
murve's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Racism, and Violence
ran_sophia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It is an excellently written and pointed book with a very strong story. Given the subject matter of the story, it was a difficult and challenging read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Slavery, and Rape
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Death
Minor: War
kimberlynpeterson50's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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 sweeping novel begins during the late 1700s slave trade in Ghana to present day. The two women whose stories we follow never meet, their journeys acting as sliding doors to different lives - one enslaved, one marrying a slaver. Thank goodness for the family tree, which I referenced frequently as I read. Gyasi details generation after generation of these women’s descendants, never directly looping back to share what eventually happened, but revealing outcomes through their children. This is a powerful demonstration of generational trauma, through both plot and character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Drug abuse, and Colonisation
melnao1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I recently read Transcendent Kingdon by Yaa Gyasi and knew immediately that I had to get into some of her other work. This book was even better than her second which is insane for a debut. In this novel she explores the effects of slavery and institutionalized racism for both the enslaved and for some of the perpetuators through stories that connected via a common descendant. Yaa Gyasi did an amazing job of writing about characters in vastly different time periods and lives while depicting Ghanian culture and customs of the Ashante tribe in accurate light for a historical fiction novel. I loved how the common thread holding all these stories together were family stories and the beauty in how they pieced into each other, even when the subject matter was heartbreaking. This book was magical for all the reasons you don't think stories coming out of such misery would be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
cinnamontwisty's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Love the way the story is told, the way each chapter is about a different person in a different part of history.
A very emotional and powerful read.
A very emotional and powerful read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Violence, and Racism
irshtnk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Drug use, Slavery, Violence, Racism, and Colonisation
jordanglass's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Addiction, Colonisation, Rape, Slavery, and Torture
zedohee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
the brutality never gave way to even a little bit of joy. i understand revealing the horrors but at times it felt gratuitous and didactic instead of truly meaningful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, and Violence