Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo

23 reviews

feeohnaemily's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Rape, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Child death

rosysnake's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Slavery

Minor: Violence, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Deportation, and Child death

jennikreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery

Moderate: Torture, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

amyvl93's review against another edition

challenging funny 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? Yes

2.75

I have loved both of the previous Evaristo novels I've read, so perhaps I was due one that didn't quite land as well for me. In Blonde Roots , Evaristo takes an alternative look at history - where white people are enslaved and black people are the ones exploiting their labour and experiencing the benefits of labour. Our story is narrated by Doris, a young white woman whose rural childhood is disreputed when she is snatched from fields in England and sold into slavery.

It is clear that Evaristo had a lot of fun playing with places, geographies and what a world steeped in black culture for hundreds of years would look like, in comparison to one dominated by white culture. There's some interesting reflections in particular on beauty standards and relationships - however, after a while these start getting a little grating. Whilst the sense of place of individual locations is strong, the narrative also feels at times unmoored from a sense of time - is this taking place now, in the past, somewhere in between?

What does makes this book readable still is Evaristo's impactful writing; her reinterpretation of the middle passage is excellent, as are scenes later on in the novel where Doris really starts to feel the horrors of her situation.

I'm not necessarily sure I would recommend Blonde Roots as a place to start with Evaristo's work, but for completists it's probably worth a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

mx_sunshine's review

dark emotional 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

I really loved reading this book. It felt quite satirical at the beginning and made me laugh at some descriptions. I quickly began to feel uncomfortable. This book made me question myself by allowing me to reflect.
I love Bernadine Evaristo, I want to read everything she’s written. I love how she describes characters. This was a very surprising story that fully explored an intriguing premise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Child abuse, Rape, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Miscarriage, and Murder

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

mog261's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

absolutely brutal. brilliant, but awful. many, many content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Torture, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

gekesanne's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Violence and Torture

zoebill96's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death, Torture, and War

rhianonw's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Confinement, Rape, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Genocide, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, and Vomit

josy_trapp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Rape

Moderate: Murder and Miscarriage