Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

110 reviews

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

4.5

This book was an absolute epic. The ambition and talent that went into this - and a debut as well!
It was gut-wrenching and tragic and criminally cruel, and heart-achingly stunning/heavy all at the same time.
Full of individual experiences - all including prejudice, discrimination and injustice - of about 250 years and seven generations. The subtlety of our world’s history and relationship with racism lives on to this day, and we cannot deny that or deny the history lesson that this book provides so vividly and thoroughly.

Favourite stories/chapters out of the 14 would have to be Ness, Kojo and H.
I need this to be required reading. But I also acknowledge the very heavy subject of colonialism and white superiority complexes. It is confronting but that’s how reality works… 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Excrement, War, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Drug use, Torture, Vomit, Rape, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Racism, and Religious bigotry

rhi_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Confinement, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Classism, Terminal illness, and Rape

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Racism, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, War, Suicide, Torture, Homophobia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Colonisation, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Police brutality, and Sexual content

booksillremember's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? No

5.0

Can’t believe this is a debut. I’m not usually any good with large casts of characters, so having 14 POVs felt daunting at first, but character introductions are spaced out enough so it’s not a problem to keep track. I cared for most characters, especially the women, even though they each only get 20-30ish pages. History is storytelling, as one of the characters puts it, and I really think this book should be part of the syllabus (maybe for 14/15+). It gives the reader so much historical information woven into heartbreaking personal stories. The only thing I didn’t care for was the symbolism with the visions, the fire and the water. It’s thrown in quite late and it felt constructed and out of place in its tone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Drug use, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, and Colonisation

itsmaryssae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Slavery, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Rape, Mental illness, Torture, and Racial slurs

fionafsw's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was an epic spanning generations and continents, showing how we are the product of our history and how trauma doesn't get erased with every new generation but instead accumulates. Each character and her/his story was immensely interesting in and of itself and of course in connection with all the others to create a multi-century history featuring, through a feminist lens, the deepest shames of humanity (namely the slave trade and all related injustices). Well-written and a very rewarding read. I'd love to read more from Gyasi in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Drug use, Slavery, Sexual assault, Deportation, Abandonment, Death of parent, Trafficking, Police brutality, and Death

0hannah0banana0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

10/10 the author managed to beautifully show us many generations and their lives and trauma in this book. This book made me feel all the feelings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, War, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Vomit, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, Violence, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Genocide, and Drug use

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Sexism, War, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Torture, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Body horror, Blood, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying

linhsreadinghour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful beautiful historical fiction novel that follows the descendants of two sisters and how the decisions of each family member impacted the next. The writing was gorgeous and hooked me right in. Despite following each character for one chapter each time, Yaa Gyasi doesn’t fail to explore the intricacies and conflicts of their own lives, whilst weaving in the historical context and significance of the time period. Stunning book and so illuminating as a non-black person. Will become a classic in the future no doubt, a must read for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Rape

rheysweg's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Colonisation and Police brutality