Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

19 reviews

beetree'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

4.25

Dikembe’s arc through his own eyes as a child is stunning and this in any of itself makes the book more than worth reading. Lowra’s side wasn’t as fleshed out but I didn’t mind - the core of this book is all heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, and Rape

bookedatheart_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Racism, and Child abuse

birdbeakbeast's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

annie_brewer's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Listened via audiobook (Audible)
READ FOR BOOKCLUB - My choice!

One of my favourite reads for the year!

This is a very powerful story with some excellent characters. Buried in the colourful voice of young Dikembe, the colonization documented in this book felt so personal and was so emotionally evocative it was hard to read at some points. The narration of both characters as children was so well done and interesting and I was consistently wondering how their paths could cross. 

My only qualm with this book is that while the mirrored circumstances of the Attic provided a connection for while they were young, and represented so much personal pain for both of them as they grew up, the characters and the book seemed a bit lost without this commonality of storylines around the midway point and the diverging (and aging) of the characters as they emerged into seperate societies. While I understand why the author decided to end the novel in a heartwarming way, I think that through all of the heartbreak within the novel the characters had lost come of their charm and it leads me to believe these characters may not have realistically had such a celebratory finale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Confinement

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

This is such a beautiful novel. While the subject matter is very dark, the storytelling is captivating, and there is a thread of hope and survival.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Alcohol, Excrement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Gore, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Genocide, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Colonisation, and Hate crime

aunticles's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a compelling read and Lola Jaye is a brilliant storyteller. As many other readers have mentioned, the sections about Lowra were less engaging than those narrated by Dikembe. The merging of the dual storylines worked for me and I liked the ending. The main story was fascinating, full of historical detail, the depiction of brutal colonialism and the pride that white people took (and still take) in it was deeply enraging and moving. The dialogue and some of the writing was rather stilted and formal. This worked ok for the historical parts but I think contributed to Lowra's character being less sympathetic and relatable in the modern parts. She and Monty never quite came to life for me as Dikembe did. It's a big book, tackling big themes and started slowly, but by midway it had become a real page-turner and I raced to the finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, and Child abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Rape

emilily's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Confinement

rebeccaelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Colonisation, War, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Emotional abuse

spookytaco's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Racism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Slavery, Child abuse, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Slavery, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault