Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

76 reviews

maapestaartje's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

4.5

This book was hard for me to read, especially because I did not find the main character particularly loveable (like..... at all), but I think everyone should read it. Not just because of its topics and its interplay with colonial books like Heart of Darkness (Conrad, 1899), but also because it is one of the first widely read African literary books and thus in my opinion, fundamental to understanding its current literary culture, especially the English language branch. 

Next to that, I also just think it's a good book. His exploration of the tragic figure Okonkwo is incredibly thorough, and, knowing that colonisation is coming, hard to read. Okonkwo is by no means a nice guy and this society is by no means nice to women (of course, neither was the colonising European force), but it is intricate, something I believe Achebe definitely tried to highlight in this book and I believe he succeeds in doing so. I look forward to reading the rest of the African Trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, and Colonisation

michaelion's review against another edition

informative reflective tense fast-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

3.0

Through the entire first section of the book and the first chapter of the second section, I just kept thinking: Misogyny will be the death of men. At least I thought that's where the book was going. It should've went that way.

There's something I hate, or dislike, about classic books which is the tendency to have unnecessary filler pages. Like they were getting paid by the word or something. And I say filler specifically because I love me some slice of life stories. I'm the kind a girlie that absolutely lives to see people figuring out what food they're gonna put on their grocery list because they don't know what to make for dinner, okay? But most of this book is just filling the pages up. Now I haven't read enough classics to say all of them do this, but I hate it either way. Scenes and moments with almost or literally no importance to the rest of the story. Maybe I hate it so much because that's how I wrote stories when I was 13. But hey I'm over it now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, War, Animal death, Drug use, and Racism

Minor: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Slavery, and Miscarriage

amberkaylynn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Abortion, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Misogyny

solarorange's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence

cass_nobody's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

A bit slower at first but so worth it for the ending. Be prepared for the emotions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

hehsoo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Violence

quillify_'s review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

 Oh wow... this was a relief to read after studying Conrad's Heart of Darkness. in excruciating detail at uni. This one... oh my god. Just goes on to show the far-reaching impacts of colonialism in Africa, and the way their customs were so degraded that it led to inevitable massacre. This is something to show why postcolonial perspectives in English are important too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Murder

chloebethx_'s review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Violence, and War

em_dill's review against another edition

reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Infertility, Death, Colonisation, Murder, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Blood, Sexism, Physical abuse, Suicide, Genocide, War, Violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death

becca_22's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Suicide, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, and War