Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

14 reviews

bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Racism, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Domestic abuse

seawarrior's review

4.0

This is a gorgerously lyrical book about a family searching for home while met with insurmountable indifference by both the governments they fled from and towards, as seen through the eyes of their young daughter. Firuzeh is a wonderful narrator whose innocence and stubborness demand attention and empathy, and I was gripped by her story from beginning to end. Yu's language is precise, dreamlike and haunting. She ties the fates of her characters together to joyful and tragic effect, and weaves a story of relentless hope that holds power even in the family's grimmest moments. One of the greatest magical realism novels I have encountered so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Confinement, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide and Child death

Minor: Physical abuse

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Suicide attempt, Deportation, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Child death, Suicide, and Racial slurs

bookishcori's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Blood, War, and Mental illness

arrakistowesteros's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? N/A

5.0

I'm not usually a fan of books that don't use punctuation for dialogue, but in this book the dialogue turns into a surreal, almost poetic prose that lets you get swept away. The author's voices for each point of view shine with how distinctly they compare to Firuzeh's. I found myself hanging on every word, sometimes re-reading sentences just to absorb how much information she packs into so few words. I'm not quite sure it fits into sci fi/fantasy, but it's still a must read for any genre. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Racism, and Xenophobia

christynhoover's review

dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

laurareads87's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? No

4.0

On Fragile Waves follows the lives of an Afghan family -- two parents and their two children -- as they journey from Afghanistan to Australia and find that the country is not welcoming and peaceful in the ways that they'd hoped or expected.  From a precarious boat ride to immigration detention to sexual and racist harassment to the threat of deportation, the novel focuses on the precarity experienced by one family seeking safety and is not an easy read.  I will say that I question the shelving of this book as 'fantasy,' and based on some of the reviews I expected a much more experimentally written book than I actually got.  An infuriating and heartbreaking read; this doesn't read like a debut novel -- definitely recommend.

 gender-based violence / intimate partner violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse

larbster90's review

challenging emotional informative sad 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

5.0

I don't cry at a lot of books, but I cried at this one. Excellent storytelling style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and War

anxiousnachos's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A must read for Australians or anyone wanting to know more about the Australian refugee situation. This is a very lyrical, very confronting look at the situation through the eyes of a young child as she and her family escape the war in Afghanistan and journey to Australia via Nauru. The innocence of the voice contrasted to the really shocking horrors faced in such a powerful way. There’s also a touch of magical realism weaved through, with this person Firuzeh imagines back from the dead to “eat her nightmares” as a way of dealing with her fear which I loved the imagery of. 

Content warnings: war, refugee camp, refugees attempt to reach Australia via boat (note:

a child dies in this section of the plot)

, racism, Islamophobia, military/police brutality, child death, suicide, domestic violence, death (of child; of parent)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and War

mandkips's review

challenging emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism

Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, and Suicide

Minor: Death and Suicide attempt