Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

99 reviews

tina94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Hate crime, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Rape, Vomit, and Violence

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

challenging dark

5.0

Thematically layered with a riveting plot. There is *so* much to unpack about race, power, queerness, and much more. I am still reeling after finishing this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Racism, Suicide, Murder, Medical content, and Abortion

Moderate: Gun violence

teo_rodas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

beckycarter97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Torture, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide

fungivibes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Vomit

olivialandryxo's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I don’t think I’m smart enough for this book. The discussions of physics and biology and all sorts of complex science stuff went over my head, and the fact that that comprises so much of the book means most of the book went over my head.

Jokes aside, Solomon wrote a unique sci-fi that left me with much to think about. The setting was interesting, and their writing easy to read without being too simplistic. The main issue I had was with the pacing, as the beginning and end were good, but the middle lagged significantly. I also think the ending could’ve been explained more, though it was satisfying enough as it is.

I ended up quite liking Aster and Theo. It took me some time to warm up to them, but I did. They’re well-written, contrasting characters with a sweet associates to friends to lovers dynamic between them. This relationship is very much a slow-burn, and very much on the back burner. While I respect that, as the emphasis of this book isn’t meant to be romance, a part of me does wish we’d seen a bit more of them in a romantic way.

As I’m thinking more about the book, I’m realizing that, though it’s well-written, the narration was sometimes confusing. If I wasn’t paying close enough attention, it was easy to miss Aster slipping into a flashback. In those situations, I had to be especially attentive so I knew when she had returned to present time. The book gives little indicators at the start of each chapter narrated by a different character even though it only happens a few times, so it would’ve been easy enough to similarly indicate time jumps.

Ultimately, this was neither great nor awful. I’d recommend it, but likely only to specific people, as I don’t think it would be everyone’s cup of tea. Despite some enjoyable elements, I’m not sure it’s my cup of tea. I may or may not pick up more from Solomon in the future.

Representation

• autistic Black queer nonbinary protagonist
• Black side characters
• queer side characters (includes nonbinary, sapphic, and aromantic asexual rep)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Body horror, Medical content, Homophobia, Transphobia, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Self harm, Pregnancy, and Abortion

bonusturniptwaddler's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Police brutality, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Gun violence

ehmannky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

A fantastic read. It's not often that you find works of science fiction that truly feel like they get and come from the lineage of Octavia Butler, but that's the only author whose work I can think of that relates to this work. It deals with hierarchies in a similar way, but Solomon's writing shows that the recreation of hierarchies, especially within a society like America, is not going to be solved by simply getting off planet. 

Also this isn't, like, smart or insightful like so many of the other reviews here but

I am so glad Theo wasn't secretly evil. I am so glad I loved his character so much.

TW: A lot of talk of suicide, suicide ideation, suicidal tendencies, etc. I feel like most people who get into the book like me are aware that it's going to incorporate slavery and get into the graphic and horrific slavery based on the real life horrors of America, but I do not know if I was aware of just how much suicide was in this book. As someone with a personal experience with loss from suicide, it wasn't enough to put me off, but it could be for others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Slavery, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia and Drug use

Minor: Pregnancy

megplant's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

On the generation ship Matilda, Aster is a healer and one of the slave-caste that makes up the lowest rungs of the ship's society. When the death of the ship's sovereign reveals strange links to Aster's long dead mother, she seeks to unravel the mystery left in her mother's journals while struggling against the oppression against her and her people. 

I really loved the coding of Aster as neurodivergent. Solomon characterizes her as unwavering and immensely intelligent while also traits that read as neurodivergent. She stims as she navigates the ship, she fixated, and she has difficulty with metaphors. Solomon has real skill in creating characters that feel like complete people. 

This is a really intense book. As would be expected of a sci-fi slave story, there aren't a lot of "happy" moments. Moments of respite maybe, but not really any truly happy moments and the book can feel pretty bleak at times. The plot is not as tightly written as it perhaps could have been at the end, but Solomon still makes powerful statements on systemic racism and acts of resistance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Abortion, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Ableism