Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange

16 reviews

beingjada's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse

inkerly's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Warning: This poetry book has possibly every content warning you can imagine. Read at your own discretion , and bring handkerchiefs

This is a choreopoem that shines light into the black women experience of the mid 20th century. Theres something for all black daughters, mothers, and grandmothers to resonate with and reflect on, and it’s such a aweing but sad composition of stories that leaves me feeling sad inside. I saw the Tyler Perry rendition of the book before reading this so I have a much more vivid and jarring memory of the events in the poems , but I think the Ebonics writing style , “rainbow” metaphor for the women, and tragic stories were beautifull constructed and together make a classic literary timepiece . My only reasoning for this being 4 stars is the it does get hard to read and I’m sure there are a million hidden meanings behind each line that I couldn’t decipher because of the artistic vision this poem chose to take.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Violence, and Rape

shaynicole's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

bridgetmnelson's review

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Trigger warning: domestic violence

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction, and Misogyny

stevia333k's review against another edition

5.0

I'm not Christian, so astagfirullah, this is what i assume reading the Bible is like for some people in terms of seeing one's self & then seeing where the roads led.

It gave me perspective on dancing, it gave me perspective on why date rape was in contrast to rape instead of in contrast to rape by stranger. It gave me perspective on other people who cling to historical figures for representations of safe spaces, it gave me perspective on some of the D/V dynamics I have with my racist family right now (I'm a white settler & so are they, but I'm trans & they're cis.)

Also the July 2010 preface was so important to read, I'm very thankful it was written. It gives guidance on how to adapt this for a variety of races women are. As a white settler disabled trans woman working on becoming a welcome guest & not connected to theater/performance people (I still need to look up performances/adaptations.) This felt important because I needed to read a lot of the book outloud to get a sense of the poetry, and some of the words I do not feel comfortable saying especially as a white woman instead of a woman of color.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Abortion, Addiction, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, and Drug abuse

bashsbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

I pulled this off the shelf at my local library without many thoughts beyond "What's a choreopoem?" The answer BLEW ME AWAY. It's a combination of song and dance, poetry and play. The stars of this choreopoem are seven black women identified only by their colors: the lady in red, lady in orange, lady in yellow, lady in green, lady in blue, lady in brown, and lady in purple. In this smashing combination of mediums, these women explore racism, domestic & child abuse, rape, and abortion - to name only a few of the tough topics they get into. And yet, it's not a read that bogs you down as much as it opens your eyes. It's dynamic. It's difficult to describe because I've never read anything else remotely like it. I wish I could see it performed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Domestic abuse, Rape, Racism, Abortion, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cursing, Grief, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, and Classism

Minor: Xenophobia, Child death, and Murder

-Racial slurs are used in a reclaimed way -Graphic discussions of victim blaming

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Chronic illness

Minor: Islamophobia and War

moonyreadsbystarlight's review

challenging emotional reflective

5.0

Powerful! I watched a performance of this after reading it (the 1982 version, featuring the author) and it was really great. It brought even more life to it but it also contextualized the intro even more and to see the life of this piece as it has grown and changed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

tabithae's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Bullying, Physical abuse, Racism, Abortion, Rape, and Sexual assault

kashalaabrahams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

'i cdnt stand bein sorry and colored at the same time it's so redundant in the modern world.'

Ntozake Shange's debut 'Choreopoem' (a term she coined herself), stands the test of time. To read this in 2021 was truly an immersive experience, each character's monologue was distinct in diction yet still maintained a harmonious tone whilst conversing with one another.

Vital statistics to consider when reading this book:
- 'For every 15 Black women who are assaulted, just 1 reports her rape.'
- '1 in 4 black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.'

'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf' tells the tales of several black women and their struggles in a marginalised society. All of them on the receiving end of pain and torment. Matters of abortion, sexual and domestic violence, and child murder are addressed in these poems, each stylised in a vernacular way that adds to the personalisation of these stories. It reminds us that these events do unfortunately happen in real life, the longer these topics are avoided in society, the longer people suffer the affects. What we call generational trauma in modern day.

'i'm gonna tack a sign to my door
leave a message by the phone.

if you called
to say yr sorry
call somebody
else
i dont use em anymore'

This work being published 1976 was and is a pivotal moment in how our society disregards black pain and how we as black women choose to address it. Do we often hide it out of fear of judgement? Judgement from who? These questions may have different answers, I applaud Ntozake Shange for opening up this dialogue in a time when black women were still finding their power and voice in a world that told them by its actions that it just didn't care enough.

'My love is too beautiful to have thrown back in my face.'

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt