Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

90 reviews

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.75

It is not easy to cover such a vast temporal space in a single book, so I recognize Gyasi's ability to tackle a story so big in scope. 
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging. 
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).

At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: War, Child abuse, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Ableism, Murder, Infertility, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Child death

dreamersmind's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

This book is tragic. There were many times that I had to put the book down and sit with my thoughts. This book follows generational lines of 2 half sisters that did not know each other. One sister was the wife of a British slave trader and the other was taken prisoner and sold into slavery in the USA. Each chapter is a different person in the following generation and the stories span over about 250 years. We get important snippets of each persons lives that weave a story that gives a clear picture of how colonialism, slavery and systemic racism affected real life people in each time period and how the actions and history of the past continue to affect the present and future generations. 


Quotes:

“You think you know but you don’t know, “she said. “Evil is like a shadow. It follows you”

“Trust is a thing to be earned. I don’t trust you. I have seen what power can do to men, and you are from one of the most powerful families.”

“This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Those who were there in the olden days, they told stories to the children so that the children would know, so that the children could tel stories to their children. And so on and so on. But now we come upon the problem of conflicting stories. Kojo Nayeli says that when the warriors came to his village their coats were red, but Kwame Adu says that they were blue. Whose story do we believe then? The boys were silent. They stared at him, waiting. We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out you must find that story too. From there you begin to get a clearer yet still imperfect picture”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Slavery, and Racism

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicide

jenk2020's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

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

3.5

C - 6 A - 7 W - 7 P - 8 I - 7 L - 8 E - 6

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Slavery, and Racial slurs

alexiconic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

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

4.5

A beautiful collection of narratives and memories, of how a trauma crosses the boundaries of generations and how the way it’s dealt with matters. As is often the case with short story collections, though, that not all chapters sparked as much to me.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Deportation, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Abortion, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Murder, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

hannahbailey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Child death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Slavery, War, Kidnapping, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Bullying, Mental illness, Grief, and Deportation

travisppe's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Excrement, Hate crime, Infertility, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Addiction, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, War, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

lyzz's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is one of the best books I have ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Violence, Racism, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Torture

Moderate: Excrement, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Racial slurs, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

The book travels from the 1600s to modern day through the perspective of two black families. It shows the horror of slavery, colonialism and racism.

abrihn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Incredible, heartbreaking, inspiring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Addiction, and Slavery

waterbear0821's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a really beautiful book. It’s also brutal, but—particularly if you are a white American—don’t let that deter you. Sometimes fiction can make hard truths even more true and this book feels absolutely true. The story is told as one chapter for each character as you move generation by generation into the near present. At first it was a bit of a challenge because I felt like a was missing so much jumping over years (not to mention that it was, no spoiler warning needed I hope, incredibly violent and horrific because it’s about the slave trade). However, as I got into it, I found the generational snapshots to be very effective and more than sufficient for me to be invested in the characters. The writing is wonderful. The story is terrible and beautiful and, in the end, hopeful. Whether you know a lot or not much about the history of slavery in Africa and America and its lingering generational scars, highly recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, Child death, Slavery, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, War, Torture, and Sexual violence

ruaruarua's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Torture, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Murder, and Misogyny