Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

6 reviews

nfoutty's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Police brutality, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, War, and Violence

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Infertility, Sexual content, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Incest, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent, Classism, Kidnapping, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol and Abandonment

noahsingh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

This was really well-written, I enjoyed the character perspective jumps (which I normally don't to be honest), I love how they were used to expand upon a singular familys perspective on both each other and the events in Kosawa and it's a really heartbreaking but realistic depiction of neo-colonialism/capitalism/etc
The reason this was only four rather than five stars for me is this (spoilers ahead and tw for rape/sexual assault):
1.  What was the need to write the twins doing that to Thula? Seriously. It doesn't help the cause if any real way, she doesn't even end up realizing she's pregnant or having the child, she isn't even aware anything happened to her. Instead we just get the off-screen sexual assault of the main character with the complicity of some of the people she trusts most. Is the point just that women suffer from the short-sightedness of misogynistic men? If so, that was already made clear throughout the rest of the book. It was just upsetting for no reason in my opinion.
2. By the end of the book you're stuck with only Juba's perspective and the children who didn't rebel. I understand that the ending was realistic in terms, things like this often don't get fixed. What I didn't understand was the need to finish the book with the perspectives of those who conform to, and even benefit from, the oppression of people who they were once like. There was just, a bit too much sympathy for the oppressors in this book, I mean, what was the need for the Leader to have a tragic backstory as well? I'm sure lots of people who participate/benefit from oppression had some tragedy in their past, that doesn't make being complicit in the deaths of dozens of children okay?  People do desperate things in desperate situations, sure, but why not focus more on solidarity? On potentially building resistance with the labourers at the oil pipes, rather than against them?  I suppose my issue with this book is that despite the fact that I loved 90 percent of it, those last 40 or so pages of the book really lets it down. There's also quite a bit of skipping key/plot-important moments in the novel while instead lingering in the moments of depression/fear/terror. Which wouldn't be a problem if there was any payoff at the end, even if that had just been seeing the Five/Thula fight back against the soldiers, rather than hearing about it all third hand. Yes its brilliantly written, but the ultimate perspective jumps into Juba and the other Children, means that the final message of the book seems to be one of assimilation into systems of western/capitalism/neocolonial oppression. It lets down the rest of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Infertility, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Classism

Minor: Animal death

bandysbooks'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This was one of those books that is incredibly sad and also based in reality, but so well written that you can’t put it down. The fictional village of Kosawa was very compelling and at points I wanted to step through the pages of the story to help them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Chronic illness, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, and Genocide

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This was so good and I am in such awe that a living, breathing person has enough insight and talent to write this novel. It is absolutely breathtaking, all of the characters are so multidimensional and well-crafted, and it is so perceptive and sharp on globalized exploitation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Miscarriage, Infertility, and Misogyny

plumquin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Racism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide

Minor: Stalking, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Homophobia

kayleyhyde's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Violence, and Gun violence

Minor: Torture, Infertility, Racism, and Blood