Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

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

33 reviews

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

carol_c26's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

moving and deeply personal, I loved this book. it's a story of a matriarchal family filled with love in the face of evil. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

cmg629's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

This book is truly a saga. I didn't know how long it would take to read, but once I started it, I didn't want to put it down.

Ailey is a character who you really feel and get to intimately know. She is constantly trying to figure life out, while working through the complexities that her family (and choices) often presents. Intertwined with her life are flashbacks to her ancestors and the hardships they face to simply stay alive.

There's a lot packed into this book. None of it felt contrived or fake. The characters you grow to know and either love or hate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Pedophilia

Minor: Miscarriage

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

trippalli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

3.0

A challenging but important read in the history of the black experience in the United States in this historic fiction. The violence in women and overt violence and abuse of humans. Numerous rapes, child sexual abuse murders, racism of course, slavery.. It's all very difficult to listen to on an audio book or read in this 600+ pages tome.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

callmeamelia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

maevebm's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

One of the most beautiful and moving stories I have ever read. Fanonne Jeffers creates a complex and rich family with remarkable flaws, joys, tragedies, and identities. The reader watches Ailey as she grows and learns about her history and the history of her community. The reader also hears the voices of the past, who provide an added layer of characters and settings. 

I loved so much about this story, but the writing flowed unlike any other. It progressed naturally and each character’s voice was their own. It made reading their hurts that much more difficult.

I am so grateful to have picked up this book and read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

jackiew98's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Pregnancy

maryannc's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Death of parent

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

 - There's no way I can cover everything THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DuBOIS encompasses in a measly Instagram caption, so the main takeaway here is that if you are up for it, this book is a must.
- Ailey and her family are both specific and universal (and in many ways, that universality is deeply tragic). At times this book feels like it could be nonfiction, until you get to a particularly stunning turn of phrase (honestly, more poets should write literary fiction, it's always incredible).
- Don't let the 800 pages deter you. LOVE SONGS is completely engulfing, intense and heartfelt. Do take the content warnings seriously though, and proceed with caution if needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia and Antisemitism