Reviews tagging 'Death'

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde

16 reviews

flyingryndeer's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Violence

abijmieds's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Cancer, Confinement, Mental illness, Outing, Murder, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Drug use, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death, Sexism, Violence, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

noahsingh's review

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Okay, so:
Things I liked about this book: fantasy elements were really good, queer and trans main characters, great worldbuilding, I liked that you got to see so many character's perspectives, really enjoyed the writing stuff
Things I didn't like: that there were so many characters so spread out that by the time I reached the points were they all intersected I could only make sense of it by going back and taking notes on names/which character they were, etc. also the ending felt a bit cheesy for me at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pregnancy

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was an interesting novel, and I’m still struggling to find the words describe how I felt about it. There’s more of a theme than a concrete plot to follow, which is about the so-called vagabonds of Lagos: those who are queer, poor, and so on. It’s about the everyday lives of these vagabonds and their messy and tender lives, all of which are stitched together to reveal something ugly yet beautiful but all so very real. The stories of Osunde’s characters are packed with emotion, and some characters’ stories were darker than others. However, she always approached her characters with care and grace, making a safe space for them to say what they need to say.

The pacing was a little awkward, and sometimes it was hard to keep track of what was happening, but I found Osunde’s storytelling captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Death

Moderate: Murder and Violence

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

vagabonds! is an inventive and original novel that's surprisingly dense, though quite rambling.

the book's premise is so fresh in concept w/ the world of the living and in-betweens overlaying one another. the exploration of its themes through the lagos setting is incisive and thought-provoking, and the queer characters + their stories range from macabre to sad to wholesome.

however, i personally find this book not very readable; aside from how surprisingly dense it is, sth just makes getting through it low-key a chore, making it the book i take the longest to finish this yr. the pacing could be a factor as it slogs at times, w/ the middle chunk esp rambling bc of the huge cast of interconnected characters who arent explored deeply enough. the novel's inventive concept couldve gone further into more fun - or at least unexpected - territory as well; somehow the magic and supernatural aspects of it arent fully taken advantage of, im afraid.

this is a provocative novel that treats queer stories w/ care and nuance, and adeptly explores themes that also interlink w/ its setting. im personally inspired by its craft but also think it hasnt yet reached its full potential both in terms of story and structure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, Cancer, and Infidelity

katiewhocanread's review

challenging dark emotional 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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Cannibalism and Child abuse