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lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition
dark
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit
menomica's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
“There is no living thing on God’s Earth that doesn’t come to know pain sometime.”
This book broke my heart.
Yaa Gyasi is so amazing at describing trauma without coming off as gratuitous. She manages to capture the multiple aspects of pain and hurt, and even how at certain level you begin to normalize it.
I think this book is very beautiful, especially if you go in not viewing it with the expectation of a narrative structure. A lot of the storlines don’t tie up in neat bows, they simply end, come to their own natural conclusions. And to me, that feels very much like how things happen in real life.
Anyway, I think this book is so amazing. Definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Abandonment
yaelm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Suicide attempt
kalzu's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, and Racial slurs
ejs2000's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
hannahbailey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
This is a really good book that I'll be thinking about for a long time to come. The story follows Gifty, a scientist not only trying to make sense of reward-seeking behaviour in her mice test-subjects, but also trying to make sense of her past too.
It made me feel more open-minded towards those that devoutly follow the Bible (I'm an atheist and quite the sceptic) and I always love it when I learn something new from a book - it's why I read! It's a great way to challenge your perceptions and grow as a person IMO.
Gifty's struggle understanding the events in her life in the context of God, and later in the context of neuroscience was a really powerful way to explore these issues. The impact of her brother's drug abuse in crushing her religious faith was interesting to follow, especially with the first-person narration. The strained relationship she has with her mother added another layer to this book making it a very captivating read.
It made me feel more open-minded towards those that devoutly follow the Bible (I'm an atheist and quite the sceptic) and I always love it when I learn something new from a book - it's why I read! It's a great way to challenge your perceptions and grow as a person IMO.
Gifty's struggle understanding the events in her life in the context of God, and later in the context of neuroscience was a really powerful way to explore these issues. The impact of her brother's drug abuse in crushing her religious faith was interesting to follow, especially with the first-person narration. The strained relationship she has with her mother added another layer to this book making it a very captivating read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
sarah_eggleton's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Really hard hitting stuff but a fascinating exploration into living and loving people who have a mental illness. A lot resonated with me, and the parallel of Gifty’s work in the lab was a really clever way to illustrate very intangible feelings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racial slurs and Abandonment
moonamidheaven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
4.5
this was so beautifully written & an equally beautiful story, incredibly perceptive and heartwrenching, a true pleasure to read. i would recommend it to literally everybody.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Mental illness
Moderate: Racial slurs
dontbelieveinez's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism
plantybooklover's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
I listened to this as an audio book, and I am glad I did. the narrator for the audio book did a FANTASTIC job. I was sort of amused at first thinking "wow she did all the voices" just like when I was smaller and someone was doing story time, but the narrator really DID do all the voices without being condescending or strange, she did them all and really added to the telling of the story. It was more like a performance, than just an audio book narration.
I initially did not want to read this because I enjoyed Homegoing and I could tell this would be different, but I like having a audiobook going when I'm at the gym, and my library is limited, so this was it. I really did not want to read another tragic tale of drug abuse and death, but in the end, I did. Mostly actually because I forgot the blurb and by the time we got to the drug use, it was mid story.
Overall I enjoyed the book, there were some slower sections that I wished had moved along faster- but I solved that by speeding up the narration!! I thought it was a very good book for book clubs or classrooms because it opens up a lot for discussion. I was surprised and delighted by the ending, which to me seemed like a happy one, which is not at all what I was expecting mid novel.
I think this is a great jumping off point for discussion of women in STEM, people of color in academia, rascism in America and drug use/abuse crisis.
Not one of my favorite reads of the year-because it was a little just depressing at moments, but giving it 5 starts because it's well written and tells an important story that added to my understanding of the world.
I initially did not want to read this because I enjoyed Homegoing and I could tell this would be different, but I like having a audiobook going when I'm at the gym, and my library is limited, so this was it. I really did not want to read another tragic tale of drug abuse and death, but in the end, I did. Mostly actually because I forgot the blurb and by the time we got to the drug use, it was mid story.
Overall I enjoyed the book, there were some slower sections that I wished had moved along faster- but I solved that by speeding up the narration!! I thought it was a very good book for book clubs or classrooms because it opens up a lot for discussion. I was surprised and delighted by the ending, which to me seemed like a happy one, which is not at all what I was expecting mid novel.
I think this is a great jumping off point for discussion of women in STEM, people of color in academia, rascism in America and drug use/abuse crisis.
Not one of my favorite reads of the year-because it was a little just depressing at moments, but giving it 5 starts because it's well written and tells an important story that added to my understanding of the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual content