Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

3 reviews

ebun_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Blood, and Police brutality

Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Colonisation and Panic attacks/disorders

erenreads12's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad 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

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does not disappoint with this book. The high expectations I had for this after reading Americanah were well and truly met. What started off as a gentle, intimate account of life in 60s Nigeria became a horrifying, tragic, brutal portrayal of the civil war, inspecting closely the ways we carry war inside of us when it is happening around us. The ending, through lacking the closure one would normally expect from a novel, drove home the very point - there is no closure in war, or happy endings. I deducted .5 of a star simply because I saw some of the betrayal plotinus coming - but it was nowhere near enough to ruin the experience. This is a hugely important and heartbreaking book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Rape, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Pedophilia

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

Note: I had the displeasure of finding out about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's particular brand of trans-exclusionary feminism shortly after finishing this book. With that in mind, I will not be supporting her work in the future. Trans women are women. 

4.5 ⭐s. I can definitely see why this is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's award-winning-est (is that a word?) work. Not only did I enjoy this immensely just from a writing perspective - the characters, plot, world-building, symbolism, narrative devices, all flawless - I also learned so much about an aspect of history that I was relatively clueless about up until this reading. This book is unflinching, and subsequently has trigger warnings for just about every trigger on the books, but it is a very impactful, emotional, and educational read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia