Reviews tagging 'Violence'

La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono

4 reviews

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, and Homophobia

Moderate: Rape, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Incest, and Pregnancy

Minor: Colonisation

nat_kiverse's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Slavery, Rape, Physical abuse, Outing, Infertility, Homophobia, Cursing, Violence, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infidelity, and Incest

morebedsidebooks's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Outing, Homophobia, and Rape

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Pedophilia, Death of parent, Alcohol, Incest, Colonisation, Infertility, and Murder

ohlhauc's review

hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

This is not a book to be read at face value. To truly understand its power and impact, it's important to have some understanding of social conventions around gender and sexuality, as well as the colonial history with Spain, of Equatorial Guinea.

Without having this context, it would be easy for Western readers to dismiss this story because of its writing. It is very sparse, there are some plot holes, and there is much character development in the standard sense of the term, meaning, this development isn't put directly on the page. It's left in between the lines and requires the reader to actively engage with the text and fill in the gaps. If you hate that, you'll hate this book. If you love that or don't mind it, this book could be for you.

It is very much an allegory looking at what it takes to live freely, and to escape traditional conventions in a culture, especially when it comes to queerness, femininity and masculinity. It's very fast-paced and a lot of plot happens in the short span of the book, but each moment builds up the character's increasing self-awareness and eventual liberation. It's an important addition to queer fiction, especially queer fiction from communities that have levels of oppression against gender non-conforming people and those who aren't heterosexual.

It has a childlike quality to the writing but still holds on to a sexy, rebellious energy. I would have liked to see a few more scenes between the characters to better understand the depth of their relationships, but I did enjoy this. If the above doesn't scare you, please check it out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

polygamy