Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4 reviews

howardbatey's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Murder, Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, 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

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

smodderman's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Amazing. 

This book brought history to life pulling readers in for the ride. 

This is not the type of book you can read in one sitting. Chimamanda evoked so many emotions through her writing that it was necessary to put the book down to process it all. I don't think I've ever read a book that I never wanted to put down while also needing to put it down in order to process all of the emotions I was feeling. 

This book was somehow hopeful, moving, and heartbreaking all at once. 

while it did end quite abruptly, I think it made sense to end where it did. The characters were moving into another part of their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

Minor: Islamophobia