Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer

13 reviews

bloodmaarked's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

aggressively mid. i won't remember this book by the end of the year.

✧ full review on my tumblr ✧

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Homophobia, Abortion, Cancer, Death of parent, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, and Transphobia

Moderate: Body horror, Medical content, Grief, Drug use, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Cursing

amyvl93's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.0

 One of the things I do miss about my old book subscription is it putting really interesting books into my hands that I may not have otherwise found, and Beatrice Porter is definitely one of those novels.

The novel follows two sisters, Zora and Sasha, living in New York with their Caribbean parents, whose lives are shaped by their parents storytelling of myths from the islands, including Anansi and Rolling Calf amongst others. As their parents marriage disintegrates and the two sisters drift from one another, these stories are how they find a way forward. Zora becomes increasingly interested in storytelling, whilst Sasha begins to explore both her sexuality and her gender.

Palmer's writing throughout this was so vivid, both in the narration from the two sisters, who feel like distinct enough characters - to the voice of the novel, who explores the stories from the Caribbean and who shines a light on the family histories of the sisters - and the cycles that the family seemed doomed to repeat. She gives even the characters who you instinctively want to turn away from nuance.

Whilst there is a lot going on within the pages of this book, it never felt like too much - and I felt like Palmer gave space to the discussions in here, particularly those around gender and mortality. Not all the magical realism worked for me, particularly towards the end but I'll definitely read more of Palmer's work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Transphobia

michaelttay's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I went through every emotion multiple times!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Rape, Terminal illness, Cancer, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

Take your time because it’s often heavy but the author does a great job of having lots of moments of humor and joy too.

valent1ne's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Racism

Moderate: Terminal illness and Rape

Minor: Cannibalism, Transphobia, and Incest

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a great debut. It isn't light reading, but I really enjoyed getting to know Beatrice and Zora. The addition of Jamaican folklore and traditions was beautifully integrated into this story. The topics aren't light (domestic violence, racism, homophobia, illnesses, child abuse, infidelity, parent-child relationships) but it's beautifully done and compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Racism

liorallen's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

the_true_monroe's review

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.75

This book is a tough one to process, in a good way. I never read anything like it, where the narrator goes in between directly telling about the day to day lives or specific events that occurred in the lives of 2 sisters, their mother and father, to telling stories of mythical creatures (often the family would tell these stories), to combining both to where you were made to wonder what was meant to be part of a mythical retelling or was happening in the moment in terms of interactions of the mythical and magical creatures with the family.

The magical realism is used to address and emphasize experiences surrounding coming of age, cultural identity, gender and sexuality, racism, trauma and what I think was one of the most defining themes (as it interacted with each of the ones I mentioned prior): generational trauma. 

I found this books thanks to Storygraph’s Around The World Challenge- representing Trinidad (this book takes place in Brooklyn, NY, Jamaica and Trinidad).

Definitely will be looking for more written by this author to enjoy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Death of parent, Cancer, and Abandonment

Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Murder, Torture, Dysphoria, Suicide, Dementia, Outing, Drug use, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pedophilia, Incest, Slavery, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexism, and Cultural appropriation

philosophicellie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

I really liked how this book spun together the mythology, family history and personal narratives of the main characters. It showed that lives are complex and our understandings of what is happening is shaped by our stories. 

There is a lot that is difficult to read (see content warnings) but this is not used gratuitously, and finishes in a positive but not perfect way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Colonisation, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Abortion

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Child abuse, Misogyny, Abortion, Rape, and Racism

deidrelj's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse