Reviews tagging 'Death'

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

9 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

blessing_aj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Generally speaking, this novel is about two young men, Ilyas and Hassan, both of whom fought for Germany as members of the Askari under different circumstances and whose lives will come to be connected in the future in unpredictable ways.

However, at its heart lies a broader scope centered around the subject of colonialism of the nations in East Africa with specific focus on the region now known as Tanzania; interrogating how and why it happened and who should take the blame for the events that unfolded as a result.

Abdulrazak is part of the older generation of African writers and his storytelling is very much reminiscent of that fact, but I didn’t mind it at all. As a matter of fact, I dare say I enjoyed it more because of that, since like his peers, he writes what he likes without the veil of political correctness that some contemporary African writers struggle with.

I really liked how well crafted the plot was and how much intentionality went into the creation of the personalities and actions of the characters, but it is the social and political commentary on or the audacity of the the Germans and the British to meddle in other peoples territory and the Tanzanian nationals who fought for them to bring about the colonization of their own homeland, that endears this book to my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and War

Moderate: Torture

bookmaddie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a monumental, generational story of family, loss, and generational trauma. And that’s all I’ll say on the plot because it’s SO complex—there is a lot going on. The first 40-50 pages feature so much world building, with historical events and new character names introduced every few pages. It made it quite hard to get into the story, but I did eventually push through.

The rest of the story is very plot heavy, and I enjoyed getting to know a few characters, but I felt like the stories I was interested in were never the ones focused on. I also found the ending to be a bit too perfect, and it felt quite rushed. A story that stretched over 30 years plus was zoomed through another 30 years in only a few pages at the end.. it felt a bit off-balance to me.

I don’t think Gurnah’s work is something I’ll return to, but I could see this being an interesting book to read about in class and dissect with a teacher to guide you. But as a casual reader, this isn’t for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage

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

nfoutty's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Moderate: Infertility, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Death, and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Abandonment

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

luananki's review

emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

i‘m very torn on how to rate afterlives. the story was great, very interesting and i’m glad i picked it up as i learned a lot about german colonialism in east africa.

i just had a hard time getting into it due to the first half feeling a bit detached, emotionless and not very clear on where its going.

either way, it’s an impactful book with impactful characters and truly deserving of its nobel prize.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, and Grief

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