Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

5 reviews

rchulin1's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Blood, Murder, Violence, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Sexism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

One of the most boring books I should’ve DNFd on page one. Didn’t learn anything about Nigerian culture and kept looking for reasons to stop reading the whole time. Only stuck with it because I kept thinking it might get better. Waste of time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Classism, and Sexism

amanda_marie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I very much enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator’s did a wonderful job. It was a nice slow pace for a while, letting me get invested in the characters. Everything felt quite low stakes. The ending, however, felt a bit like getting hit by a bus. And then it was over. And honestly I’m still not sure how I feel about that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Death

amberinpieces's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Classism, Sexism, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, and Child death

erebus53's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I went into this book not knowing anything about it. As a result I was about 9 hours in before I started seeing the point of the book. It really starts with slice of life things, and a broad cast of Nigerian characters, and it is difficult to see all the connections that will eventually be built. 

Amongst the main players are,
a woman who is a doctor who is being pressured by family to marry the man she has been dating,
his father who is a politician,
her mother who is trying to hold a family together,
the woman she buys her handmade dresses from,
a boy who works in the tailoring shop,
his family and their hopes and financial struggles that have been immense since his father was laid off by government funding cuts for schools.

These disparate characters seem to have little in common except locality. Each has their own history, drives and challenges. The pace is slow and half way through I was feeling a little lost when it came to understanding the significance of some things. Although frustrating, this is part of the point of the book. Without a big picture of what is going on, it is easy to ignore small things that contribute to a problem. This is a major theme of the story, but it takes a back seat to the unfolding interplay of characters.

As a backdrop we see a country that lives with shortage of medical and teaching staff (caused in part by the exodus of graduate students), and a divide between rich and poor that leaves those who are destitute or disabled begging on the streets. There is also some disability narrative with a mother who is terrified that her children will be Dyslexic, because she feels that her personal survival was only possible due to marrying a man with a good job.

Logical things happen but it still feels affronting. The last 5% of the book is a rollercoaster of tenseness and revelation, and emotional resonance that would only be possible with the time and love that the reader invests in the characters to this point. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes character driven stories, has a lot of patience, and an interest in Nigeria.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Ableism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Abandonment, and Cancer

Minor: Alcohol, Mental illness, and Suicide