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tiamia1084's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, War, Alcohol, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Cursing, and Sexual content
boygirlparty's review
adventurous
funny
informative
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
4.0
I’m ashamed to say i didn’t know much about abolitionist John Brown or the insurrection at Harper’s Ferry, but this book was just about the most clever & entertaining possible way to tell it. There are about a hundred genuine laugh-out-loud moments in this book, surprising for a book about such a serious subject. I’ll miss adventuring with little Onion. Faith is its own character in this book as well. Clever and compelling.
TW for lots of racial slurs
TW for lots of racial slurs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, War, and Slavery
yyes's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, and Slavery
knkoch's review
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.0
What's not to like about rich historical fiction peopled with bold characters? This reminds me strongly of Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle, where the characters feel like character actors delightedly chewing up the scenery. It's unusual and interesting to imagine aspects of John Brown's abolitionist war-making and rebellion as almost humorous capers, but James McBride succeeds, though with a constant threat of death and menace underscoring each event. McBride masterfully paints John Brown as a fascinating, woodsy, filthy iconoclast, both morally admirable and myopically flawed, strategic and naïve. I don't think I've ever understood the full significance of the raid on Harper's Ferry, which was always presented to me as an anomalous rebellion quickly squelched, and not a major touchstone event in the lead-up to the Civil War. I'm certainly much more interested in catching the TV miniseries for this now! And I'll definitely be reading more James McBride in the future, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
cdreibelbis's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Racial slurs
guinness74's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An outstanding work of historical fiction that tells the tale of Old John Brown. McBride has conjured an eyewitness to the Harpers Ferry saga and follows them from Kansas to Virginia, fateful bloody step by fateful bloody step. The novel is littered with historical characters who mesh evenly with the ones who might have existed, but the world has no record of. And even though you know the outcome (at least, one hopes you learned it), it is an exciting read, particularly so during the final chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual content
shannynbarnett17's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and James McBride has become one of my new favorite authors. This is the second book I have read by him, with the first being Deacon King Kong. This book is slow-paced throughout the first 3/4 of the novel, but it REALLY picks up towards the end. The action-packed ending makes the book in my opinion. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the American Civil War era. It gives an insightful look into the minds and thoughts of slaves, both still in bondage and free, throughout the country.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent
larareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, War, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
bjdarby's review
adventurous
funny
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
tashadandelion's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Having read Deacon King Kong this year and loved it, I was eager to try this one out too, and it did not disappoint. McBride has a knack for the ridiculous-and-yet-lovable old man character. John Brown, the iconoclastic abolitionist, and Deacon Sportcoat are about as different from each other as two old men can get, but they're both crazy like foxes. They have something to teach the younger generations when you strip away all the bluster and swagger and disorientation and see their inner truths shining clearly at their cores. The story told in The Good Lord Bird is a fictional imagining of the events leading up to John Brown's doomed raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry, VA (now West Virginia). We see the action through the eyes of a young, enslaved Black boy named Henry who in early pages is swept up in Brown's wake after his father dies suddenly. He's mis-gendered as a girl named Henrietta, and is nicknamed "the Onion". He goes along with this absurd turn of events because it helps him survive the buffeting whims of the dangerous world around him. If you can take the irreverent and nuanced portrayal of power dynamics between whites and Blacks (and among Blacks) in the pre-Civil War US, this rollicking tale will entertain you, start to finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Minor: Death
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