Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

25 reviews

ada_elisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This was the perfect way to start out ✨ sad book summer✨. The only acceptable way, really. 5/5 for the fact that I teared up not once, but twice while reading this. 

Let's begin with what I loved about this book, because there was a lot: 
I loved the unique voices/narration styles of each of the characters. It took me a while to appreciate this, but I really liked how different each of the girls' voices were: Ruth May, the baby, was obviously innocent, hilarious, and naive, while Leah's style was very straightforward and to-the-point. Although I initially didn't like Rachel's jaded whining, I found her parts to be easy to read and even funny at times, especially once I caught on to her malapropisms. Adah was undeniably my favorite because I felt her perspective to be the most similar to what mine would be: I found her questions to be the most introspective, her observations to be the most interesting, and her poems and palindromes to be downright delightful. Although Adah was a clear favorite of mine, Ruth May was not far behind, and

her death was predictable yet tragic. I nearly cried when she died, but I really started to tear up when Leah said "As long as I'm carrying Ruth May piggyback through my days, with her voice in my ear, I still have her with me." Ouch.

I also liked Orleanna's sections of narration at the beginning of each section and Ruth May's piece at the end: they bookended the story in such a great way. 
- The side characters were also extremely fleshed out and realistic. The different quirks and idiosyncrasies of each character made them multi-dimensional and exceedingly human. Even Nathan, who was frankly insane, had a well-developed character. Although I complained many times about the length of this book, I really do appreciate the way the story unfolds over several decades, following the girls as they grow into women and continue with their lives. I almost wish more of the novel had been dedicated to their adult lives; I found them to be much more interesting than chapter after chapter of teenagers in the Congo. 
- The writing was simply phenomenal. The simple elegance of the syntax and the extremely well-curated word choice made this such an amazing read. Even in characters with more simple ways of speaking, such as Ruth May or Rachel, Kingsolver's masterful writing shines through.

Things I didn't like: 
- This book was LONG. Over five hundred pages, making it the third(?) fourth(?) 500+ page book I've read this year, which I'm pretty sure is more than I read in the entirety of 2023. It took me weeks to get the the three hundredth page, only for me to sit down on the first day of summer break and finish the entire thing, reading over two hundred and forty pages in just a few hours. I don't actually have a complaint about this book's length, because I think it was perfect for what it was, but I wish I had had more time to read during the school year. 

-

Anatole and Leah. There relationship in adulthood was sweet, but he was too old for her. I rest my case.

 

5/5 stars, nearly perfect. Shout-out Jen for giving me this for my birthday, sorry it took me so long to get around to it lol. 

There were so many beautiful, beautiful passages in this book that I had some difficulty selecting a quote, but I've picked one that sums up the entire thing pretty well: 

"To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I've only found sorrow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal death, War, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment

wordsmithreads's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Religious bigotry, Racism, Colonisation, Animal death, and Classism

Moderate: War, Ableism, and Child abuse

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

porktheorc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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: Child death, Child abuse, and Colonisation

bookish_bry's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.75

This book is beautiful. There are so many fantastic quotes I ended up highlighting and I imagine I'll find more when I read it again. It's very good, but it is a slow read. It's not just getting the slow tag because its <500 words (like some get). It is a slow story and is more of an extended metaphor in most places than a story. Still, it was a fantastic book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Death, Animal death, Grief, and Misogyny

fpcat99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Sexism, Toxic relationship, War, Animal death, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Vomit

sylviet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death

amsswim's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I think this is going in not only 5 star category, but favorites and best books I've read categories. Not only was the story good, but the writing kept me engaged and seeking more the whole time. This author had such beautiful and realistic ways of making these characters come to life, as well as tie in real world implications and reflections. 

You follow 4 daughters, their Mother, and Baptist Pastor Father deep into the Congo on their Fathers' mission to convert the people living there to Western Christianity. While the family goes through culture shock regarding that and their new realities, the country is self is trying to shed itself of Belgian colonialism. Despite it taking place in the 1960s, the story and the real world events occuring now still echo the exact same. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a more modern classic. 

My favorite quote: "I found ... I had now wings ... I had lost my wings. Don't ask me how I gained them back, the story is too unbearable. I believed too long in false reassurances; believing as we all want to, when men speak of the national interests that it is also ours. In the end, my lot was cast with The Congo. Poor Congo; barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the kingdom"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Child death, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Animal death, Colonisation, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Genocide, and Medical content

harriett_x's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

I’m speechless, wailing on my floor. One of the best books ever written

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Child abuse and Religious bigotry

lovosii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I have read this book about 3 times now at different stages of my life and have come out of each reading with a new appreciation of this book. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Colonisation, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Addiction, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry

bookswithcuppatea's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

The five narrators have such different voices, such different perspectives on their lives in Africa as outsiders. Kingsolver has woven an extraordinary tale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Death, Sexism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts