Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Friday Black

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

45 reviews

literaryintersections's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A lot of this I loved:

The finklestein 5 is an unbelievable story. Heartbreaking and sad. Feels realistic and also highlights the ends people will go to try and get some kind of justice. To get people to say their names.

Lark Street was WEIRD but also sad. Maybe a take on abortion overall but more a take on how women are impacted by abortion.

Zimmer Land was disgusting and horrifying and felt like the early stirrings of Chain-Gang All-Stars. The idea of doing something good when really it’s stripping of humanity.

Friday Blsck - capitalism and materialism.

Light Spitter - honestly heartbreaking all around.

Some were so strong and others not as strong. But overall, such a great read. I want a full Finklestein 5 and full Zimmer Land story.

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wanderingtones's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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madsmacmath's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I don’t read a lot of short stories, and they’re a unique genre in their own right. It took me a second to get the feel and cadence, and to realize my criticism, that the stories felt like they were ripping off real life, is the whole damn point. These stories feel like looking at an uncanny valley image; they’re just different enough for you to see the story but so hauntingly and eerily familiar. It’s like everyone else has said - dystopian, sci-fi, selective realism. Like a Black Mirror episode on the page.

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m_papaya's review against another edition

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4.0

Bleak, violent, read in one sitting.

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kananineko's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

3.5

Like all short story collections there were a few misses here for me, but overall the writing was strong and thought provoking. Stand out stories include: The Finkelstein 5, Zimmer Land (my favourite), Friday Black, and Light Spitter. I disliked that a few stories were somewhat connected. Having read the author’s novel Chain-Gang All-Stars, you can tell that he has a lot he wants to say. For me, the short story collection was more successful in achieving that goal despite being more disjointed. Each story felt more focused on a theme or topic where the novel tried to take on everything. It’s obvious he is a talented writer.

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

I was pulled in by the first story but there were a few afterwards that were just okay or I had no idea what was going on. I almost DNFd but the stories become more interesting again/less confusing and pulled me back 😁

Overall a dark and interesting read where I liked more stories than didn’t. It’s well written and uniquely told. Highly recommend for any horror or dystopian/speculative fiction fans!

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