Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

A Long Way from Douala by Max Lobe

5 reviews

siria's review against another edition

emotional sad tense

2.75

In A Long Way from Douala, teenage Jean and his friend (and secret crush) Simon team up to try to find Jean's brother Roger, who has run away from home in the aftermath of their father's death in the hope of making it to Europe. Max Lobe provides a vivid picture of life in contemporary Cameroon, and I liked the rhythms of his dialogue and his use of Camfranglais (a slang mash-up of French, English, and indigeneous African languages). Yet as a coming-of-age novel it never quite... well, comes of age. And while Jean's sexism and transphobia aren't that surprising, given that he's a repressed teenager raised in an explicitly patriarchal evangelical Christian household, the continual misogyny and vitriol made for a wearying read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

morebedsidebooks's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Antisemitism, Racism, Blood, Car accident, and Trafficking

Terrorism is an overreaching concern.

worthleyv's review

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Transphobia

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, and Racism

library_dreamer's review

2.5

I had a really hard time getting through this one because of the way Jean talked about and treated women, especially a transgender woman. There's a possibility that something was lost in translation, but his attitudes and actions made it really hard to enjoy the rest of what should have been an interesting buddy traveling story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Antisemitism, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny

porshea's review

adventurous challenging medium-paced

2.5

While this book has some merits involving showing us a contemporary Cameroon setting and sharing regional texts and cultural media that has gone without much regard in Western commentary, it suffers from the having a point of view character whose misogyny and internalized homophobia leads to awful treatment of a trans character and most women throughout the story. Because these harmful thoughts and behaviors go unchecked, the reader cannot tell if this is supposed to be commentary that the author hopes their audience will interrogate or a reflection of his own perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking