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emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition
Very graphic sex, murder, abuse and more. Not recommended.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
magehydrate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Marlon James is clearly a talented writer, and also seemed to have done a lot of research into African (I believe specifically west african? could be wrong) legends and myths, but still this book was at times nearly impassable. Every type of extreme sexual violence is written about in great detail, including pedophelia, beastiality, sexual torture. The list goes on—I’ve actually seen a list going around of all the “triggers” in this book. The main characters are all foul people, even in the depths of their love or flaws, they reek. Tracker, the teller of the tale, may to be blame for that, for he is a man overcome with anger and nothingness and everything is through his eyes. Even when a violent act is not being done, the characters never have kind things to say, and often their dialogue is a threat, typically sexual in nature. Aside from the sheer amount of violence, James tries too hard to make the plot complex, and loses the thread for most of the book. What could have been a cool search party journey turns into something at times totally illegible because he’s trying so hard? The dialogue is almost exclusively nonsensical riddles, which at first is sort of engaging and requires close reading, but eventually one realizes that the riddles are not opening doors to greater meaning, but rather putting off meaning entirely. (Which might actually be on purpose? So much of the book is about stories and lies, the absence and construction of truth and story. What would a character who is without any meaning at all think of meaning?)Somehow, despite all that…I read the whole thing and was drawn into the world which was huge and imaginative. The monsters are interesting, and so are the enchantments and magics, though they’re all cruel and disgusting (but shouldn’t magic be kind of unpleasant??)and I did find myself invested. It is hard to say what kind of development happens for the characters—for instance , Tracker hates women and that is brought to his attention almost 80% of the way thru the book, but the resolution is two vague sentences about finally seeing his mom again and crying at her feet. In fact it makes one wonder if James himself hates women, because he does address how little choice and mobility women have, even in this fictional non western fantasy realm, but there isn’t a single woman in the book who isn’t conniving, selfish and evil… But again, Tracker sort of admits at the beginning of the book that he might be lying, and we are reminded that this entire tale is through his lens. Man. this is a crazy book. There is so much to say about it and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time. Not sure if I will read the others in this series. Might write another review after some time, when I’ve had more time to think about it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
scsparrow125's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Minor: Death, Gore, Rape, and Sexual assault
thistlereads's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping
nrhilmer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lanid's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder
malimaan's review against another edition
every time I thought about opening the book i started to feel dread because it just made me so uncomfortable.
the writing itself is really complicated and often poetic, which I appreciated. in the end, however, neither the promising story nor the writing style was entirely to keep me interested enough to finish.
i feel like this book is a good book for some people but the graphic details were just too much to make it enjoyable for me.
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Excrement, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
there is a scene in which the MC is gang raped by hyenas. additionally there are several instances of bestiality.lochnessmaddy's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Murder, and War
christina_ro's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
If you have any concerns about trigger warnings around any kind of violence, I’d google the warnings for this book. The graphic violence of this book was probably the hardest part for me. There are certain scenes where the violence and detailed descriptions add weight and emotion, but there are a number of times where I didn’t feel it added anything to the story. I’m not typically one for gratuitous violence or gore, but it caught me off guard and since I was reading it for my book club, I pushed through.
Overall, I’m glad that I finished this book, and James is certainly a talented author, but I’m not sure I would read more from the author if his other books are this graphic.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
aehmyers's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism