Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

10 reviews

alexstartsthings's review against another edition

challenging tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Classism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture

Minor: Vomit and Outing

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Racial slurs, Cancer, Classism, Alcohol, Racism, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, and Violence

cheye13's review

challenging funny tense fast-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

2.0

Wayyy too boot-licky for me.

This is excellently written and maintains a strong voice throughout. The depiction of race relations did not pull punches. The story surprisingly sustained a sense of broad hope.

I wanted more of everything. I wanted it to push further in every way. I wanted a deconstruction of capitalism, I wanted a deconstruction/exploration of masculinity (esp in white vs black spaces), I wanted a deconstruction of ambition. I disagree with reviews that say the back end went off the rails - it didn't go far enough off the rails.

Ultimately, it felt like a middle class cishet black man's white collar day dream - he gets to be a jetsetter, he gets to earn big bucks, he gets a nickname, a driver, a girl - he gets to Save The World. Which is a very good and important story to tell - there's plenty of those white stories out there, and this is miles better than any of those. But pitching it as a Sorry to Bother You comp does it a disservice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Classism, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Cancer, Slavery, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Toxic friendship

also: minor mention/depiction of lynching (in a photograph), moderate discussion of incarceration, discussion of drug dealing in addition to drug abuse. A brief discussion of outing somone, not followed through. The hate crime I tagged is a scene of white coworkers "pranking" the only black employee by dumping white paint over him; not sure if it qualifies as a hate crime, but it definitely felt like one in context.

suzyvee's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Cancer, Ableism, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

laynemandros's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, and Terminal illness

gotem's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

I was not the audience for this book, so I don't think it's fair for me to rate it. What I will say is this definitely is not fast-paced. This is extremely well-written, just that it is approximately 200 pages of the same experience in different scenarios, with 100 pages to set the scene and main characters up and 100 pages that wrap everything up in a conclusion. So if you enjoy reading those types of things (re: groundhog day but instead of the day resetting it is another toxic workplace experience that corresponds with a negative inter-personal experience) then genuinely consider adding this book to your pile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Classism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death of parent

docsusan's review against another edition

challenging dark funny inspiring fast-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

5.0

Wow. Just wow. This book gripped me, challenged me, made me laugh and made me gasp. Brutally honest,  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Cursing, Death of parent, Classism, Gaslighting, Racism, and Toxic friendship

mxbenjaminrose's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Minor: Classism, Hate crime, and Fire/Fire injury

peachani's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Bullying, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Racism, and Cursing

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Ableism, Addiction, Classism, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

fongyay's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What a wild ride this was. I devoured it quickly but it was also brutal to read at times, watching a train wreck kind of vibe. The first sections were utterly riveting and the later ones less so, but I was invested enough in the plot by then to keep going. 
Suggested song pairing: Flying Monkeys by Jay Stone

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Racism, Torture, Violence, Cancer, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Homophobia