Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

128 reviews

ennzito24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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

5.0

Words can't describe how much I love this book. This was one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read and it's something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Theorizing was so captivating and elegant! While the book is fiction, the subject matter behind it is very much real. Honorée is truly a master storyteller and I can't wait to read more of her work. Everyone needs to read this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

caseycdelima's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

cassielaj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book has so much going on, and I still felt like I could’ve kept reading for 100 more pages because the writing is so beautiful. It is absolutely captivating. Beautifully written, informative, and engaging. It ties in major historical events with characters’ lives in a really impressive and effective way. It’s telling family history and American history at the same time, showing how they’re interconnected. It’s also expertly paced for such a long book. I love the jumping back and forth between timelines, connecting Ailey’s present and family history through her ancestral land. It’s horribly sad and challenging to read, but terribly important. And it has some uplifting moments as well. I really enjoyed reading about Ailey’s journey and the way everything connected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

letmetakea_shelfie_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

nikootine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

5.0

A beautiful piece of historical fiction. I love how Jeffers connects the characters from the 1700s to those in the 2000s and in between. The writing is poetic and the story is gripping.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

jesiareada's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Very detailed and you experience characters develop throughout time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual violence

pheyreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Some books you read and some books you experience. This is the latter. The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois poured into me: themes, love, ideas, heartache, and inspiration. It’s a novel that’s left a mark on me. I don’t typically reread books because I’m so desperate to get to the next one on my eternal tbr, but I will be rereading this again and again throughout my life. This reminded me why I love to read. I felt so deeply for this fictional family and humanity as a whole. Honorée Jeffers gave nuance and complexity to all of her characters, even the most vile. They all felt like people. 
 I learned so much about our history and gained new revelations. It was very tough to read sometimes: the many instances/references to SA, characters I grew to love not getting a happy ending, cyclical mistakes etc. But the journey overall was beautiful and so special to me. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a genius and The Love Somgs of W.E.B Du Bois is a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Slavery

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence

all1thegr8's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

3.5

A beautiful tale of one Black family’s lineage and a woman’s growth into fully understanding her roots. 

Incredible writing and storylines. Jeffers makes great use of 797 pages; although the book is certainly long, it’s length feels appropriate for the depth and vastness of its contents (creating meaningful storylines for over 300+ years of characters & discussing themes of their life is not easy!)

Think I will need significant time to digest this novel. While it’s depth and vastness can be an asset, these qualities can also make it difficult to discern critical takeways, at least immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Classism