Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

18 reviews

demeryg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

I thought this book was fantastic. Though I would say at  points it was slow.  It took me a moment to fall into the rhythm but once I did it was game over! 
I found the topics in this book really educational and relevant to other genocides happening at the hands of USA and Britain. It was informative and also a beautiful story between the mix of characters and their interpersonal relationships.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Colonisation, Xenophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Racism, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Child death, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Death

fionafsw's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective sad 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

5.0

Fact and fiction blend, past and present blend, as I read about the Nigerian civil war next to BBC headlines and couldn't stop thinking about the indiscriminate misery and human suffering Israel has unleashed in its current war in Gaza. It is impossible in March 2024 to read about starvation and not be reminded that 1 in 6 children <2 years are acutely malnourished in Gaza, with dozens dying of dehydration and malnutrition. The sheer desperation of a population brought to its knees and then beaten while on the ground translates seamlessly from the late 1960s to this week.

There's not much more I can say about this powerful novel except that Adichie manages to weave humour throughout to help the reader get through the horrors of war and to present something so alien to readers like me who have had the dumb luck of knowing nothing but peacetime through an individual, human lens rather than statistics or political or military manoeuvres. And for readers like me who had no idea about Nigeria, her fantastic writing brought to life every smell, taste, and sensory input. 

But where the book really excels, I think, is in describing tension between individuals in the most subtle way that still makes it obvious. Tension (sexual and otherwise) that you could cut with a knife, as if you were there, in the room, as the protagonist. As Richard might say, it's really quite fantastic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Colonisation, Genocide, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, Blood, Murder, Police brutality, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Classism and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy

margaleao's review against another edition

dark 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, War, and Death

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Medical content, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, War, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Blood, Vomit, Sexual violence, Genocide, Gore, Classism, and Child death

Moderate: Colonisation and Animal death

eelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Deportation, Genocide, Gun violence, Classism, Death, Child death, Confinement, Police brutality, Violence, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Blood

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

dark informative 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

What an incredible book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Child death, Death, War, Racism, Sexual assault, and Rape

harrybarnett098's review against another edition

dark sad 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

An astonishing, haunting account of one of history's 'forgotten wars', a potent story of hope, love, war and political idealism - and a powerful act of remembrance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, and Gore

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, War, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Medical content, Pedophilia, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Confinement, Sexism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Child death, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

hannah_lou's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism

ciarammeyer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

super super well-written! objectively, this is a 5 star book. however, i felt like at times the plot seemed unresolved—the cliffhanger at the end was beautifully done, but some of the other moments of uncertainty felt less necessary. i think it’s just a personal preference thing, though, i prefer to have my books feel a bit more tidy at times. 

overall, though, i loved this book. adichie shines light on a war id never even heard of before (western education proving insular yet again), and does so in a way that feels uniquely personal. the characters are deeply flawed—with the text exploring adultery, rape, elitism, and the brutality of war—but you never feel like they are irredeemable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, War, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Misogyny