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coleycole's review against another edition
5.0
Not an easy read in any sense of the word, but breathtaking, heartbreaking, stunning. Just an amazing book.
gabrielcunha's review against another edition
4.0
esse é um livro forte, muito forte.
extremamente sensível, mas tão pesado porque obviamente estamos falando dos estados unidos em plena escravização de povos africanos, arrancados de África, mas retrata a história de dois garotos que encontram um no outro o conforto que os fazem acordar todos os dias para seguir em frente.
essa é uma história de amor, mas é difícil acompanhar como esses dois garotos tem que literalmente enfrentar até mesmo a própria vontade de estar juntos para conseguirem viver.
é lindo, sensível, forte, pesado, extremamente bem escrito com passagens que nos levam de volta aos ancestrais e que demonstra o quanto o Robert Jones, Jr. estudou para conseguir trazer uma obra tão completa.
o final é o que me deixou bem conflituoso porque eu não acredito muito em histórias LGBTQIAP+ que tem finais difíceis, mas ao mesmo tempo eu sinto que fez muito sentido narrativamente.
enfim, recomendo, amigos.
extremamente sensível, mas tão pesado porque obviamente estamos falando dos estados unidos em plena escravização de povos africanos, arrancados de África, mas retrata a história de dois garotos que encontram um no outro o conforto que os fazem acordar todos os dias para seguir em frente.
essa é uma história de amor, mas é difícil acompanhar como esses dois garotos tem que literalmente enfrentar até mesmo a própria vontade de estar juntos para conseguirem viver.
é lindo, sensível, forte, pesado, extremamente bem escrito com passagens que nos levam de volta aos ancestrais e que demonstra o quanto o Robert Jones, Jr. estudou para conseguir trazer uma obra tão completa.
o final é o que me deixou bem conflituoso porque eu não acredito muito em histórias LGBTQIAP+ que tem finais difíceis, mas ao mesmo tempo eu sinto que fez muito sentido narrativamente.
enfim, recomendo, amigos.
disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
amandakathleen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Classism, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Child death, Homophobia, and Slavery
raoulalexander's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Very strong with regards to character development + building tension between characters by seeing many different POVs, but to what end? The ending was explosive but a bit disappointing. For me, the flashbacks to a precolonial African society didn't add much as they weren't well enough connected to the rest of the story. The character work was remarkable enough though that I would pick up this author's next work, there's definitely great potential here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Racial slurs
beeta_laskowski's review against another edition
2.0
This story is beautiful, yet complicated, and difficult to explain how I feel. There were parts that flowed and others where I struggled to follow, with the story picking up at different times / places dependent upon the new narrator. I'm not sure how important a reader's overall understanding is on their Biblical knowledge, but I have essentially none and felt like I missed key points. Also, I felt quite stupid while reading bits of the narrative, because I couldn't understand it. It felt overly complicated for the sake of being overly complicated.
There were parts of this story I enjoyed reading and wanted further exploration: the bond between Isaiah and Samuel, Maggie's story, Sarah's past AND future (what happened to her??), and more. I started to get more lost toward the end and really struggled reading about Soloman's fate.
Maybe a conversation to talk through the plot and interpretations would help change my perspective.
There were parts of this story I enjoyed reading and wanted further exploration: the bond between Isaiah and Samuel, Maggie's story, Sarah's past AND future (what happened to her??), and more. I started to get more lost toward the end and really struggled reading about Soloman's fate.
Maybe a conversation to talk through the plot and interpretations would help change my perspective.
samanthasimonsen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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? Yes
3.5
spacewhombus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
This book hurt so much, and made me cry like a baby. Samuel and Isaiah's bond was so beautiful. I really loved how the way that the author wrote about their relationship made it so natural, and he showed how colonialism and the influence of white Christianity were unnatural, rather than the love between two men. This book also heartbreakingly depicts the survival of enslaved people and the culture and identities they lost, and the sacrifices they had to endure for the sake of being resilient. Overall this is a beautiful, sad story about humanity, connection, and what it means to lose that to.
tylawrencium'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
4.0