Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

15 reviews

thomasdj's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Death

Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Excrement, Colonisation, and Murder

florenceassetto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

this book was absolutely incredible, honestly one of the most impactful reads i have ever done. i have never connected with characters like i did here and i laughed for them and CRIED for them and hoped for them and it was so powerful. a must read for everyone i would recommend 100 times over

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Genocide, Animal death, Death, Grief, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, War, and Child death

Moderate: Blood and Colonisation

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

arayo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Rape, Alcohol, Death, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Body horror, Infertility, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Blood, and Excrement

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

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

mrslindseypruitt's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Body horror, Rape, Child death, Excrement, Infidelity, and Police brutality

exist0ni's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Child death, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

lanid's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, War, Violence, and Gore