Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

19 reviews

ciarammeyer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

super super well-written! objectively, this is a 5 star book. however, i felt like at times the plot seemed unresolved—the cliffhanger at the end was beautifully done, but some of the other moments of uncertainty felt less necessary. i think it’s just a personal preference thing, though, i prefer to have my books feel a bit more tidy at times. 

overall, though, i loved this book. adichie shines light on a war id never even heard of before (western education proving insular yet again), and does so in a way that feels uniquely personal. the characters are deeply flawed—with the text exploring adultery, rape, elitism, and the brutality of war—but you never feel like they are irredeemable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, War, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Misogyny

lanid's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, War, Violence, and Gore

rbacon's review

dark emotional reflective 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

This is very literary and I feel like that style made it longer for me when reading it. However the content and topics covered are so interesting and hard hitting, particularly reminding the Western world and Britain of our history actually being pretty shady since forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Torture, War, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Excrement

rchristine11's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I would not recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, War, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Gun violence, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Gore, Child death, Classism, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Animal death and Abortion

moa's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, Gore, and Child death

dilara2912w's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, War, Gore, Child death, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Violence, and Vomit

erenreads12's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-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

4.5

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does not disappoint with this book. The high expectations I had for this after reading Americanah were well and truly met. What started off as a gentle, intimate account of life in 60s Nigeria became a horrifying, tragic, brutal portrayal of the civil war, inspecting closely the ways we carry war inside of us when it is happening around us. The ending, through lacking the closure one would normally expect from a novel, drove home the very point - there is no closure in war, or happy endings. I deducted .5 of a star simply because I saw some of the betrayal plotinus coming - but it was nowhere near enough to ruin the experience. This is a hugely important and heartbreaking book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Rape, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Pedophilia

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Note: I had the displeasure of finding out about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's particular brand of trans-exclusionary feminism shortly after finishing this book. With that in mind, I will not be supporting her work in the future. Trans women are women. 

4.5 ⭐s. I can definitely see why this is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's award-winning-est (is that a word?) work. Not only did I enjoy this immensely just from a writing perspective - the characters, plot, world-building, symbolism, narrative devices, all flawless - I also learned so much about an aspect of history that I was relatively clueless about up until this reading. This book is unflinching, and subsequently has trigger warnings for just about every trigger on the books, but it is a very impactful, emotional, and educational read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

thetheodora's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, and Violence