Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

3 reviews

clarereadstheworld's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.5

This is definitely a Bookstagram made me do it read, and wow did it blow me away. For a debut novel, Cherie Jones writes beautifully. The characters are of vivid and real, and their story is so moving.

It all takes place on Baxter's Beach in Barbados. Two women, Lala and Mira, both suffer unimaginable losses within a couple of weeks of each other. Although they come from very different worlds, and move in very different circles, their fates are set on a collision course.

The narrative changes to a different character each chapter, and plays around with 2nd and 3rd person narrative voice, and different narrative styles, which I really enjoyed. I also loved how characters which at first appeared to be secondary were given a back story, and we got to know them better.

Not an easy read, and this book definitely covers some difficult topics, but these subjects are very well dealt with. I was not surprised to learn that Cherie Jones herself had experienced some on what Lala went through. Her writing felt very genuine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Grief, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Child death

sarah984's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

This is a multi-pov novel set in Barbados in (aside from a few flashbacks) 1984 showcasing the explosive ways several people’s disparate lives come together in one moment in time. 

This book left me a little conflicted. In a general technical sense, the writing is beautiful, particularly in the sections in second person, and while there was sort of a feeling of being somehow distanced from the characters I think that might be necessary to get through some of the story’s tough subject matter.

I was expecting a heavy read but maybe not quite this heavy. The hopeful note at the end was nice but I was left wondering what I should be taking away aside from how difficult everyone's lives were.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Police brutality, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Vomit

breannamarie619's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Incest, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Racial slurs