Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

59 reviews

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Xenophobia, and Vomit

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

3.75

It is not easy to cover such a vast temporal space in a single book, so I recognize Gyasi's ability to tackle a story so big in scope. 
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging. 
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).

At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder

alexiconic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

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

4.5

A beautiful collection of narratives and memories, of how a trauma crosses the boundaries of generations and how the way it’s dealt with matters. As is often the case with short story collections, though, that not all chapters sparked as much to me.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation

travisppe's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

msvernier's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

seullywillikers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful. Stunning. Heartbreaking. The language cuts right to the bone, and the structure of the storytelling is unique and powerful. I believe this is a must-read for everyone.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

a_alves00's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

catwhisperer's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.5

✨ Thrifted ✨

The content warnings are below. 

My friend recommended this to me, and she has some great finds so I was excited for this one.

I read the reviews earlier on though, and someone wrote that it was challenging to invest in the stories because they would get very interesting, and then move onto the next POV very quickly, and I completely agree 🥺 
The stories were gorgeous and heartbreaking but I never felt like I got to know any of the characters only because we were going too quickly.

It’s a very luxurious perspective that I have though, I am aware of this 😳

All in all, I thought this book was beautiful and I really especially enjoyed Marjorie’s story at the end 🥹 I loved Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom more so am glad to have tried her first novel ✨

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

mondovertigo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Excrement, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit