Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

8 reviews

abbeyyyrosee's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

3.5

A well-written story with a unique perspective. Slow-paced with very few dramatic punches; simply, a story that recounts the lives of a few at a specific moment in time. Gurnah weaves together the often invisible stories of everyday individuals living through the horrors of war and colonialism. Individuals who were living under duress and yet still being expected to live their lives: go to work, celebrate new life, confront loss, find love. 

I believe Gurnah achieved the story he was wanting to tell; it was reflective and informational, and it demonstrated the lived experience and nuance of attitudes toward both the German and British colonizers. It makes me think about self and the morality of the individual and how it ties into our singular position in a living, breathing society that will persist with or without us. Societies built by many to benefit the few, and yet impact us all. Published in 2020, it seems to make an indirect comparison to the times we're living in now: many of us bystanders to the wars around the world and the hatred at home. A society rife with racism, homophobia, and all other forms of discrimination that we're expected to move through. It is difficult to live when you must first survive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Slavery, Child abuse, War, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

Minor: Bullying

stindex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Grief, Violence, Sexism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, Chronic illness, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

thejuliette's review

adventurous medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

brotlord's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment, Cancer, and Pregnancy

jennikreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Abandonment, Child abuse, Violence, Death, and War

Moderate: Death of parent and Miscarriage

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, War, and Violence

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Slavery, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Xenophobia

ladymirtazapine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, War, and Violence