Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

246 reviews

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Sexism, War, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Torture, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Body horror, Blood, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying

sarah_js's review against another edition

informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Beautiful. A heartbreaking and heartening story of a family broken into two lineages. A story of sacrifice, survival, impossible choices, and generational manifestations of trauma and resilience. Made me think a lot about the violence of cultural erasure; the privilege of traceable lineage; homeland and ancestors. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Violence, Racism, and Slavery

clairevn's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

Hard to read, but a powerful story about the generational traumas of slavery and racism

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Racial slurs, Rape, and Slavery

themis_biblos's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

 Split the Castle open
find me, find you. 

 "Her trick is to make him think that he is king of the bush, what does a king matter? Really, she is king and queen and everything in between."

 "He heard the word [forgiveness] most on the few days he went to the white man's church and so it had begun to seem to him like a word the white men brought with them when they first came to Africa. A trick their Christians had learned and spoke loudly and freely about to the people of the Gold Coast. Forgiveness, they shouted, all the while committing their wrongs." 

 "Evil begets evil. It grows. It transmutes, so that sometimes you cannot see that the evil in the world began as the evil in your home."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: Torture, War, and Suicide

linhsreadinghour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful beautiful historical fiction novel that follows the descendants of two sisters and how the decisions of each family member impacted the next. The writing was gorgeous and hooked me right in. Despite following each character for one chapter each time, Yaa Gyasi doesn’t fail to explore the intricacies and conflicts of their own lives, whilst weaving in the historical context and significance of the time period. Stunning book and so illuminating as a non-black person. Will become a classic in the future no doubt, a must read for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Rape

asha_m's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Xenophobia, Violence, War, Trafficking, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Torture

danisbookshelfx's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

I’ve never read a book structured like this before. I enjoyed following the different characters through the generations. I was torn between anticipation of what was going to happen to the next generation and sadness that I didn’t get to see more of the previous generation! 

Really moving story. Make sure you read trigger warnings!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse and Suicide

henlovesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

This book had me both devastated and captivated the whole way through. I will admit I went into the book blind and was at first confused as each chapter revealed a new member of the family. It was a bit harder for me to keep track of the stories but finding the family tree definitely helped. 

After the initial confusion, I found myself completely engrossed in each of the narratives. The storytelling skillfully navigates between the darkest shadows of our history and the delicate threads of human connection. In her haunting poetic exploration of generational trauma, Gyasi breathes life into each character with an aching tenderness that deeply resonated with me. 

This book was challenging, informative and captivating. I cannot recommend it enough

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Slavery, Addiction, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

nad_books623'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? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As an African American and descendants of slaves this book was amazing.

I did not expect them to meet to meet at the end. I was so shocked to read that Marcus met Marjorie. The ending was everything and I did not think it would connect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Grief, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Drug use

Moderate: Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia

aamie's review against another edition

4.5

I really liked it!! Pretty dark but sooo interesting. I feel like I learned so much about Ghana and the history of their people and in America too. I really like how the stories intertwined but I do wish we got to see more of their lives then the little snapshots we get especially for the people in the later generations. I thought it was really well written and some of the imagery and feelings evoked were horrific but handled with a lot of care and poetry. Majorie and the Old Woman 😭😭😭✨✨🫶  SAM AND NESS! KOJO AND ANNA 😭 every storyline just had so much heartbreak and pain and suffering and you just feel so much humanity for them. Good book!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Torture