Reviews tagging 'Death'

Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James

14 reviews

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Gaslighting, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Classism, Death, Sexism, and Rape

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and War

kkelley18's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child death, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

mmcloe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

Oh lordy this is simply perfect. So so many ideas to talk about with this book, among them:

1. How trauma affects memory and its retelling, on personal and social levels
2. How we construct narratives and discourses. Written vs oral, archival vs personal, misremembered vs fabricated 
3. Is the author the Inquisitor? Is the audience? Is this a metafictional work?
4. The different types of families and the circumstances that produce them 
5. The fluidity of bodily and biological categories, the openness of our flesh as we engage with others 
6. The long shadow of slavery and its stain on the "Western" archive of the African continent (I loved the allusion to Saidiya Hartman with "the archive is a tomb")
7. Women's networks and the ways in which they often spread subversively under the gaze of the patriarchy 

And so so so much more. I sincerely hope this series reaches accolades and a legacy far beyond any literary category because it's simply unparalleled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Rape, and Violence

kikireads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Minor: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity