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readandfindout's review against another edition
4.5
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Abortion
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury
cmklaft's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
hlopatin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
nikootine's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence
risqkae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Abortion, Colonisation, and Classism
kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
Author: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Genre:
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date:
T H R E E • W O R D S
Sweeping • Tender • Rewarding
📖 S Y N O P S I S
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called "Double Consciousness," a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois has sat untouched on my shelf for far too long simply because of its sheer size. A yearly reading challenge prompt ('read a 600+ page book') forced my hand and I couldn't be more grateful! This is proof that I shouldn't leave big books sitting on my shelf.
This novel is a long journey, but it was worth every single minute. Following the sweeping history of one American family over centuries of the colonial slave trade, through the Civil War, to our own tumultuous era. It's a work of fiction, yet these characters felt so real. So alive. I was rooting for their victories and sympathized with their pain. Ailey (the main story teller) is researching her families history and I was along for the ride. My heart felt for Lydia as well. These two sister's weaved their way into my brain even when I wasn't reading.
The writing is absolutely beautiful and layered. It was easy to read 100 pages in one sitting without noticing the passage of time. The family history is interwoven seamlessly with the modern timeline. The narrative certainly tackles a lot - race, history, identity, privilege, intersectionality, identity, culture, womanhood and shared trauma - and yet it all comes together so flawlessly.
This book is one for the ages - equal parts compelling and moving. Although lengthy it easily could have been longer. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is an experience all of its own. It's demanding, challenging, and incredibly well-researched. I will be finding a special place for this one on my favourites bookshelf. Definitely check out content warnings beforehand as this is no easy journey and being in the right headspace is necessary.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• lovers of the family saga
• readers who love beautiful writing
• bookclubs
🔖F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Even in a place of sorrow, time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing."
"But first you got to get out of the library sometimes and meet somebody, 'cause it ain't legal to marry books."
"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."
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
colourism, overdosemadeleinebay's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
thewairimu's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Violence