Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

108 reviews

bmpicc's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

4.0

Character development galore, vivid detail, & so much history.

I was not familiar with the Biafran war. While a lot of this was heartbreaking it was also beautifully written. Honestly, several sections felt like I was reading a memoir rather than historical fiction.

“This was love: a string of coincidences that gathered significance and became miracles.”

“Grief was the celebration of love, those who could feel real grief were lucky to have loved.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity and Colonisation

katrinadalythompson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and War

reikista's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Sexual violence

jesscattley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

demeryg's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

I thought this book was fantastic. Though I would say at  points it was slow.  It took me a moment to fall into the rhythm but once I did it was game over! 
I found the topics in this book really educational and relevant to other genocides happening at the hands of USA and Britain. It was informative and also a beautiful story between the mix of characters and their interpersonal relationships.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Colonisation, Xenophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Racism, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Child death, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Death

confirmyourpassword's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

A haunting read about what a civil war looks like for people who lived it. Adichie writes about the war in a way that plainly states what happened without outright glorifying or demonizing, and the small details she includes evoke very poignant imagery. The characters were all compelling without being cast as overly good or bad and I could see myself living and dying the same ways they did, with all their virtues and faults. It's profoundly difficult to read because of how dark the context is but I'm really glad I read the novel.

Also special shoutout to the edition I read (ISBN 9781400095209) which is excellently made. The pages are thin and flexible without being fragile and the book feels fantastic to flip through. Super easy to turn the pages and the cover feels good to hold and doesn't attract fingerprints. The cover art is also amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and War

thomasdj's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Death

Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Police brutality, Excrement, Colonisation, and Murder

kalobar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Violence, War, Sexual assault, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Infertility

dezzella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

I read this book because my best friend's coworker thought I would like it and she was right. This not something I might have picked for myself genre-wise but I really enjoyed it. It reminded me a lot of how I felt reading Michael Ondaatje and Toni Morison in literature classes. The story started out with some interpersonal drama between the characters and took a somber mood toward the end. This does cover events that take place before and during the Nigeria Biafra war. It's an event I didn't know too much about but I felt for the characters during the story. It was a bit emotional hearing about the devastation that was happening but I think it's also very important to be aware and keep learning about these things.

 Overall really well written. I liked how things ended and I am glad I tried a book outside my usual genre. If you're looking for historical fiction that has a more literary feel, I recommend this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, War, Death, Child death, Violence, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

mirandahedvik's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Murder, Violence, Rape, War, Genocide, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child death, and Alcohol

Minor: Excrement, Infidelity, Death of parent, Classism, Vomit, Sexual content, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Infertility