Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

14 reviews

kittycaserine's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This was almost a 5 star book but I found the ending unsatisfying. Which, perhaps was the goal. But I wanted real justice for this poor girl and that was ember received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, Suicide attempt, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Classism, Torture, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexism, and Car accident

alicelalicon's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Blood, Pregnancy, Racism, Car accident, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexism, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

kktaylor11's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

This book first caught my attention a couple of years ago when I came across the title and the first few pages in a book store. Recently, standing in B&N I saw it again and had to make a decision whether to buy it or save it for later - ultimately deciding to wait. Then I got home and discovered I had actually PURCHASED it the first time I saw it and it had been languishing in my TBR pile -- so obviously I needed to read it. 

The story is unique, original, and well written. It follows the childhood and maturation of a young woman (Nori -- short for Noriko) who is the child of a disgraced Japanese princess (at least she's of royal blood) and an African American GI. As the book opens, Nori is abandoned by her mother at the gates of her Japanese grandparents' home -- and the story follows the next 17 years of her life as she fights for acknowledgement, love, belonging and identity. Her brother (same mother, Japanese father) comes to live with her at one point, she creates meaningful relationships with British expats, and she grows into her own identity - but...

There are moments that are truly beautiful - moments where Lemmie captures the beauty of Japan, the power of family, and her words have the spark of something literary -- but my biggest hiccup is that I felt some things were rushed and unclear. (Ironic to say about a book that runs 450 pages!) If you want to just experience the story - do...I certainly don't resent the time I spent reading it!  If you want more details from me, here you go: 

After finishing the book I've been struck by how many loose ends it has, and the more I think about it, the more I feel like it's unraveling in my hands. For example - one of the most powerful scenes in the beginning of the book is the acid bath Nori has to take daily as her grandmother tries to lighten her skin. The scene is detailed and painful and powerful in establishing the intense dislike for her grandmother so pivotal to the story. Yet it's never really mentioned again. At one point Akira mentions the baths in his promise "the beatings and baths will stop..." but that's it. Are we just supposed to forget it? On a similar note, the brothel is a powerful moment that feels like the author wanted "something terrible" but it feels forced and forgotten. Nori's friendship with Miyuki is built too quickly into "like sisters" and then torn apart and never mentioned again. Nori ends up with plenty of money living with Akira for years and never even considers trying to find Miyuki? Even when she inherits everything she closes the brothel, but makes zero mention of her friend. Similarly, the relationship with Akira is too fast and too intense - almost uncomfortable. You can have hero worship without having overtones of incest, which I think unintentionally (or maybe it was intentional) develop here. Nori is too blindly and obsessively in love with Akira, almost to the point of it being uncomfortable. It was clear something was going to happen to him from the first pages - the more he became "the air she breathed" the more you knew he was going to die.  Or how about Will....he essentially rapes and sexually abuses her for over a year and then she just says "no more or I'm telling" and never seems to have to deal with any residual effects of the trauma? And the part where she goes to watch him feels pointless -- she decides to go visit Alice on her own, so why did we need the moment of Will seeing her across the room or the suggestion that he had seen her in other places or the awkward scene where he throws himself at her again? It's just not realistic? That's the bottom line for me...there were so many moments that wrenched me out of the narrative with a "Wait, what??" for me to truly love the book. And the ending? Oh.So.No. After an entire lifetime of LITERALLY wanting to kill Nori, cutting her off and threatening to kill her if she doesn't leave...suddenly Yuko wants to leave everything to her and Nori is like "well.....OK." !?!? What the heck? I mean through it all Yuko and "absent threatening grandfather" have been flat background characters -- a cheap "threat of danger" to keep the story moving, but even from the little we do have about them they effectively think Nori is subhuman and would rather all their money go to the state than to her -- so to welcome her (pregnant out of wedlock) back and solve the issue by saying "she's Akira's long lost daughter even though no one actually believes it, they accept it" -- umm....if it's that easy, why couldn't you have said that back when she first arrived? So yeah, No. That's the biggest flaw in my mind.

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That said, I did enjoy the majority of the book, and don't resent my time reading it, so high 3 star, low 4 star?  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Racism

cc0906's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

Minor: War

patricia0227's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.75

I was gripped from the beginning and couldn't put it down. I didn't particularly enjoy some of the plot points and characters' choices, but really an excellent novel with great world building. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture

jaynovara's review

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

Moderate: Grief and Miscarriage

keatynbergsten's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

jmarinaro's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Torture, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Body shaming

thespinystacks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

A beautiful and tragic historical fiction. 
Fifty Words for Rain was rich with beautiful imagery, but tied within the beauty is a story full of tragedy. An innocent child born into a family stuck in the tradition of royalty, and blaming her for any shortcomings their family may have.

Nori suffers deeply at the hands of her Grandfather and Grandmother, and many other adults who all fail to protect her. 

The story spans over 20 years of history, and across two continents. You’ll grow with Nori, and feel for a young woman who has been forced to grow up too fast, but stayed the little innocent child all the same. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Car accident

kelsielovesbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Child abuse, and Car accident