Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

5 reviews

kaelynbyers's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

If I could give this book 100/5 stars I would.

“That's the point, isn't it? To keep learning. To grow. To do more good than harm. To create compassion. To understand that every person you encounter is not there by coincidence. All of us play a role in another person's life. What goes around comes around.”

This is a beautiful story following the lives of 7 Chinese women throughout history.
It is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
Both angering and calming.
Both painful and healing.
It is a story about both grieving and joy.
About loneliness and community.
About weakness and strength.

I have never come across that is so many different things at the same time.
This is a beautifully complex story that walks through the sufferings of women in one family line while highlighting all the ways their trauma and joys are shared across generations. The struggles that make them feel the most isolated and alone are the very things that tie them together.

This book is beautiful, but it does have some difficult topics that could be triggers for readers. This book talks in great detail about depression, suicide, physical abuse, racism, SA, and loss of friends and family. 
Please consider the topics covered before reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Rape, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, and Mental illness

kimisjustokay's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Medical content, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal death, Classism, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

natalie12345's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racism, Death of parent, Rape, and Addiction

chrisljm's review against another edition

challenging sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This was written well but I’m not sure how I feel about taking a real life person and writing a fictional story about her, especially when her story (real and fictional) is filled with so much trauma. I was only able to find one other review from a Chinese person, so I really wish there were more Chinese people who have read/reviewed this. 

Also, just in case there is anyone else out there who will have a similar experience to me, THEY ARE NOT SPEAKING CANTONESE IN THIS BOOK, IT’S TOISANESE 😭 I was losing my mind because I know Cantonese but was unfamiliar with Toisanese, but I’ve since learned it’s because they’re used interchangeably and prior to the 1960s Toisanese was the dominant language spoken in Chinatowns.

Another thing, this part of the blurb was the reason why I decided to read this book, “A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories,” but it was so misleading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, Forced institutionalization, War, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Abandonment, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Racial slurs, Self harm, and Colonisation

maya_reads_books's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape