Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

49 reviews

roasjeno's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Beautiful. Lyrical. Truly a masterpiece. Jeffers paints each character with such fine detail to convey these were and are real people; she challenges us to feel empathy for people we have been told are the past. I personally love intergenerational family sagas, and especially appreciated how these tales were woven into our main character’s research, as if we were following along with the author Jeffers as she researched for this novel. I’d say that this book is comparable in its scope and (potential) influence to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Márquez.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

qqjj's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thestudioussister's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

katreadstoomanybooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad 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

This beautifully written saga definitely lived up to the hype!  A mix of Roots and Homegoing, Love Songs tells a multigenerational story of one Black family from the colonial slave trade to present day.  What set this book apart for me was the use of indigenous and Afro-indigenous lenses, something that is sorely lacking in many books today.

While the infamous Du Bois makes a fictional appearance, Jeffers explains that she chose the title based on the term Du Bois coined, “sorrow songs,” to describe the gospel and folk music sung by enslaved Black people to express their suffering.  I loved that Jeffers renamed it to “love songs,” alluding to the inspiration given to Black Americans.

This book is a whopping 816 pages, so I suggest taking it slow, reading something light at the same time, and just enjoy the experience.  Jeffers crafts so many small details throughout the novel that I found myself flipping back and forth numerous times while connecting the dots.  I am planning to buy my own copy and reread this masterpiece again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

chirazhene's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

whatmeganreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

What a breathtaking saga of a book! I had been putting it off because of its size (it's a huge freaking doorstop at 800 pages), but I'm glad I finally took the time to read it. 

Trigger warnings abound - abuse of adults and children, both physical and sexual, rape, violence, and addiction.

It's a hard read, (a very, very hard read at different times throughout the story), but I would emphasize it is also a very important one. If readers shied away from all things hard or uncomfortable or dark, we would be in sorry shape. That being said, I understand there is a time and a place (and a reading mood) for everything....and you should be prepared and in the right place before you read this.

This novel is stunning. It is guttural and harsh. And before you finish, it feels like the characters are your family. I will be thinking about this one for a long, long time to come.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Medical content, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

shelvey's review against another edition

5.0

This is a masterfully done piece: the weaving together of Ailey's present-ish day story with her ancestry in the first part of the book only to have her learn of the connections as she becomes a historian. It was like a mystery that I didn't even realize was a mystery until it was solved. Such complex characterizations of people that I adored and absolutely hated (looking at you Gandy and Samuel Pinchard). I also read this simultaneously with Women, Race, and Class and it was so interesting to compare a historical nonfiction with a fictionalized exploration of one family through history.

I cannot understate the content warnings for rape, abuse, and child molestation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

jessgreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Author: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Chicasetta, GA / Harlem, NYC

Month Read: February, 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2021

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 816

TRIGGER WARNING- 

There are too many to name, but some big ones include:

Racism / Genocide / Rape / Incest / Pedophilia / Suicide / Murder / Slavery 

"We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees,"

No Spoiler Summary:

The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois is a tour-de-force novel following a family from the slave trade to the civil war to modern day America, with many stops in-between. It ties in different works of W.E.B. Du Bois as you weave your way through time, and takes you on an incredible journey through centuries of Georgia.

Review:

I'm blown away by how incredible this novel is, and had no idea how many twists and turns I would be taken on while I read this. I wept, I cheered, I felt loss, sorrow, happiness, regret. It's an absolute must read novel for me, but I know the people who need to read this book most never will. 

I loved the split timelines, and I think the characters were all so perfectly placed where they needed to be in this book. I loved getting to follow the same plot of land through so much time, and when I started piecing together that these were all descendants of the original Native Americans living in that space, it was beautiful. 

There are a LOT of tough subjects in this book, and the hardest part for me is the chapters and chapters and chapters of slave child rape. If you're sensitive to this at all, I just want to make sure people really know this going in. It's very tragic, as everything about slavery is, but nothing is spared in detailing these horrific crimes against fellow humans. 

There is also some tough chapters about drug abuse, and it was just so sad seeing one of my favorite characters fall really hard due to drug use. It really brought things into perspective that it doesn't matter who you are, your family support system, your dreams--- it can all be taken away so, so fast. 

There's so much more to talk about- the writings or 'songs' of W.E.B. Du Bois prefacing each chapter, the ties of family, the beautiful prose that exists in this book- but I really just implore everyone to read it. I tried to take this book with one section at a time, especially because after some I felt like I really needed to sit and think about what I had just read. It's a big book, I won't shy away from that- but it's an incredibly worthwhile read. I'm grateful to Oprah and Obama for putting this on my radar. and I'm just very happy to have read it. 

See more reviews at:  https://jessgreads.wixsite.com

"These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Self harm, and Sexism

nyssbomb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Lesbophobia