Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

42 reviews

galexy_brain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Confinement, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Vomit, Xenophobia, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Suicide, Infertility, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Bullying, Gun violence, and Homophobia

edensbookshelf's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

This is perfection. Yaa Gyasi had an idea and executed it immaculately. There isn’t much more to say for this one. It is a complex story told with such confidence and purpose that its messages cut through clear and uninhibited. 10/10.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Cannibalism, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Dysphoria, and Stalking

sweekune's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

I went into this book blind, based on a friend's recommendation and the vague description of "It's about two black sisters and their descendents. It's sooo good." I'm not sure "good" is the right word for the raw, serrated emotions this book brought from me. I cried with almost every chapter and have come away forever changed by this book.

- Each chapter has a different point of view, starting with the original sisters and flowing down the generations to modern day. You feel the weight of the ancestor's experience influencing the lives of the descendents. Despite the short time spent with each protagonist, the author's writing draws you in and you feel in your heart for each and every one of them.

- This book documents extremely well the challenges of black people from the slave trade, colonialism, segregation, gaining independence, workers' rights, drug addiction and so much more. This is the sort of book that should be studied in schools and used to spark discussions on history and the awful things white people did (and still do) to black people and forge a better future.

- The language used is beautiful and Gyasi's prose paints all these places and points in time so it's like you're there. The ending of one chapter almost made me vomit the imagery was so strong. It takes amazing skill to write something that produces such a visceral reaction and I am in awe of her talent.

Absolutely and irrevocably scarring in the best way. I will carry Homegoing with me for a long time and I felt it within me. Everyone should read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

charvermont's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Vomit

heybethrenee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

This book absolutely wrecked me. It reads like a collection of short stories but because we know the characters are connected through the generations it makes what happens to them that much more impactful. While fictional, Gyasi gives a voice to the unwritten and silenced stories of Black Africans and Americans as forced change and horrors over take them.  Every white person needs to read this book. The trigger warnings are unending so be prepared for an emotionally difficult read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Death, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Colonisation, and Adult/minor relationship

amanda_hook's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

clea's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug use and Sexism

Minor: Sexual content

eloiseisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, and Adult/minor relationship

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I commend Yaa Gyasi for taking such a fresh approach to storytelling with Homegoing. It was an incredibly ambitious task, but one she handled phenomenally and with care to create two captivating intergenerational stories. The book starts with a split in a family lineage in present-day Ghana during the eighteenth century with two half-sisters, Effia and Esi. Homegoing, and it’s haunting, especially because it lingers in an unexpected way. Despite coming from the same mother, Effia and Esi never knew each other and led entirely different lives; one being married off to a British slave trader, while in the dungeons below, the other was enslaved and sent to the United States. From this point on and across seven generations, we get a chapter that gives a glimpse of each descendant’s life, often during significant moments in history (such as the Great Migration).

What was most powerful about Homegoing was the afterlives of every character playing a role in shaping their lineage. Through this, we see the repercussions of slavery and colonialism, resulting in the intergenerational trauma that would haunt for centuries (and, frankly, continue to haunt). The word “homegoing” marks death, but also a return to home. Gyasi pushes the reader to contemplate what shapes Black life and death, as well as what “home” means for the forcibly displaced. (There’s also a whole thing we can get into about Orlando Patterson’s “social death,” but that’s a literal essay waiting to happen.)

Homegoing is raw and emotional. While some may not be thrilled that each chapter are essentially like vignettes, I find that this approach precisely captures what Gyasi wants the reader to experience: a haunting full of unresolved ache.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts