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Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'
Penguin Readers Level 7: Homegoing (ELT Graded Reader) by Yaa Gyasi
190 reviews
maya_venkatesh36's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Slavery, Trafficking, Racism, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Colonisation
mcplank's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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? N/A
5.0
This book is so beautifully written, it captures you and doesn’t let you go. The ability of the author to so deeply connect you to each character in just one chapter is artful, and a testament to the craftsmanship of the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Death, War, Kidnapping, Rape, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction
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
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
booksillremember's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? No
5.0
Can’t believe this is a debut. I’m not usually any good with large casts of characters, so having 14 POVs felt daunting at first, but character introductions are spaced out enough so it’s not a problem to keep track. I cared for most characters, especially the women, even though they each only get 20-30ish pages. History is storytelling, as one of the characters puts it, and I really think this book should be part of the syllabus (maybe for 14/15+). It gives the reader so much historical information woven into heartbreaking personal stories. The only thing I didn’t care for was the symbolism with the visions, the fire and the water. It’s thrown in quite late and it felt constructed and out of place in its tone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Drug use, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, and Colonisation
fionafsw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This book was an epic spanning generations and continents, showing how we are the product of our history and how trauma doesn't get erased with every new generation but instead accumulates. Each character and her/his story was immensely interesting in and of itself and of course in connection with all the others to create a multi-century history featuring, through a feminist lens, the deepest shames of humanity (namely the slave trade and all related injustices). Well-written and a very rewarding read. I'd love to read more from Gyasi in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Drug use, Slavery, Sexual assault, Deportation, Abandonment, Death of parent, Trafficking, Police brutality, and Death
porkkutletbowl's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, and Drug use
nessreadsalot's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This book begins in the 18th century with two half sisters who have never met. One marries a white slave trader and the other is captured and sold into slavery. The story is written with each chapter following someone from each subsequent generation up to present day.
The short insights into each characters lives and how slavery and colonisation has affected and shaped their lives are so well written that each chapter leaves you wanting more about that person's story. I found it a little difficult to keep up with who was related to who at times because of the quick pace of the chapters and in the audiobook there was no chapter title to indicate the move to another character. I have seen others mention a family tree is printed in the physical book which would be very useful to help follow.
The short insights into each characters lives and how slavery and colonisation has affected and shaped their lives are so well written that each chapter leaves you wanting more about that person's story. I found it a little difficult to keep up with who was related to who at times because of the quick pace of the chapters and in the audiobook there was no chapter title to indicate the move to another character. I have seen others mention a family tree is printed in the physical book which would be very useful to help follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
summeryoder's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
It's an amazingly well crafted novel that spans decades and generations. While each family member's story is captivating, it's a bit disorienting to leave a character after just one chapter, never to come back to them. At times it felt that some of the brutality and sexual content veered into gratuitousness rather than being a necessary storytelling vehicle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual content, Rape, and Infidelity
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