Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

48 reviews

junalynx's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The ending was slightly anti-climactic in my opinion. The characters were mostly distinct and engaging, though Diti was dancing on my every nerve throughout the entire book. I have so many questions to the author, but mainly “why?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Torture and Murder

milooo's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

it’s difficult to summarise what i feel about this book. on one hand, it’s a great story about colonialism and gender oppression with very cathartic female rage moments. there are some beautiful passages about beauty, nature, and community. it provides some really interesting viewpoints on the complexities of war and colonialism, and the power that faith has to justify violence and oppression. on the other hand, because the topic it addresses is so relevant and complex, the resolution of the story doesn’t feel satisfying or earned. the whole journey the characters go on doesn’t really feel focused or clear until about the 60-70% mark. other plot points sometimes feel very disproportionately intense when you see how quickly they are resolved. the stakes don’t always feel high when events like that- when the characters are said to be in danger- don’t provide a lasting effect on the story. it just leads to the characters seeming like they are magically immune to danger.

some of the deaths, for example Luyu’s, feel really sudden and don’t have the emotional impact they could have. This is really confusing because Binta’s death was really impactful and had a visible impact on the journey.

. Overall however, it’s a good book, albeit very heavy, so make sure to read the trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence

eclipse799's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Child death, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Sexism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, War, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Pregnancy

juniperbranches's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

This has been such an honour to read. Onyesonwu is a child of rape, of anger and of magic. Living in a post apocalyptic African society Onye is living through a genocide of her mother’s people committed by the people of her unknown biological father. When ancient shapeshifter magic stores in her bones Onyesonwu knows she can keep her primal rage silent no more and sets into the desert to change the world. 

Listen, if you are going to read this book there are a ton of trigger warnings. But, oh god is it worth it. This book is going to be one I think I about constantly. Please read it if you have the capacity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Genocide, and Racism

biobeetle's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Genocide, Violence, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Torture

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Medical trauma

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

chelseaclif7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Child abuse, Slavery, Racism, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This will probably be a 5 star when I reread it one day. Wow. It's a complex story, feels epic in scale, but also has relatable and realistic characters. My new favourite Nnedi Okorafor book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Hate crime, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Racism, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Slavery, Blood, Infidelity, Death of parent, Body shaming, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Bullying, War, and Fire/Fire injury

Female genital mutilation

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Dr. Nnedi Okorafor writes the most interesting characters and hasn't failed for me yet. 

Here we follow Onyesonwu throughout her life as she goes through many trials to find out exactly what it is that is her purpose. Onye is a child of rape and is discriminated against because of her mixed heritage, which can be easily seen on her features. Set in a far future Sudan, this novel still carries issues that have been known in the region, such as weaponized rape, child soldiers, violence against women, racism, etc. 

I really appreciated how Okorafor built the spiritual and magical aspects of the story. In many ways, they reminded me of magical realism as well as showed me a completely different way to think about ancestors and the way that people can be connected via their spiritual beliefs. 

Overall what it came down to were the characters. I love it when characters aren't just the idealized hero and the perfect side characters. They are all flawed in different ways, they might be stubborn, be incredibly impatient, or even let their carnal desires take over when they might need to prioritize other things in their lives. 

All in all, if you want to see a completely different take on fantasy that features a strong woman and also strong supporting partner and companions, do check this out. Do take the content warnings seriously before reading though! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, War, and Violence

aeglaeca's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a difficult book to read. I'm not even sure whether I enjoyed it. Yes, it's set in a fantasy world, but so much of what's described has happened and is still happening. It's definitely worth the read, even if I disliked almost every character

and all of Onyesonwu's "friends" and even Mwita, were often awful. The only good friend she really had was Luyu.

If you do get into it though, just be prepared for a heavy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Slavery, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, and War

vasi83177's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and War

Moderate: Violence and Misogyny

Minor: Slavery, Racism, and Genocide