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A review by wchereads
Born in a House of Glass by Chinenye Emezie
#BorninaHouseofGlass
Thank you to #NetGalley for the e-arc.
The beginning was gripping - we see an abusive father who also seems to have a soft side for his youngest children, especially the youngest one, the main character Udonwa. Udonwa, as a young child, has trouble recounciling the abuse he dishes out to other members of the family and the care he seems to give to her. Having mixed feelings about a parent because you see both his abuse and his nicer side is something I relate to strongly. I became invested the family and was curious to see how Udonwa would recouncil these feelings as she grows up.
Unfortunately, the book went downhill for me from there and at various points I almost wanted to DNF. I did end up reading through the whole thing. I do not think I hate the book, but I am truly not a fan, either.
To avoid spoilers, I will say that I did not find the character development of Udonwa convincing and I cared about her less and less as a character, even though I was still invested in the family's journey towards healing and often found their interactions funny and heartwarming.
I loved the way the siblings reconnect, open up and become more honest with each other as they grow up and the way one or multiple members in the family - sometimes a sibling, sometimes an aunt - are there for each other, even if they don't always know the best thing to do. I loved the author's writing of the mundane and the daily things.
The main character's unconvincing development and the way the impact of The Family Secret being revealed was handled made reading the later part of the book a very frustrating experience.
There are multiple sensitive topics in this book that, in my opinion, are not handled with as much care or nuance as they deserve, such asa false rape allegation and abortion. I was also disappointed in my hope to see Udonwa addressing her complicated feelings abour her father, since we later learn that the father has committed so, many unspeakble crimes that he was no longer a person, more like evil manifestation - though I don't deny that such people exist in real life. There was simply no point in wrestling with love and hate - there is no reason to not hate this man.
I hope the actual book will have a page for content warnings.
I wish I didn't push myself to finish the book as it was clearly not for me. I regret that I am leaving a lukewarm review. I hope it will find its readership.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the e-arc.
The beginning was gripping - we see an abusive father who also seems to have a soft side for his youngest children, especially the youngest one, the main character Udonwa. Udonwa, as a young child, has trouble recounciling the abuse he dishes out to other members of the family and the care he seems to give to her. Having mixed feelings about a parent because you see both his abuse and his nicer side is something I relate to strongly. I became invested the family and was curious to see how Udonwa would recouncil these feelings as she grows up.
Unfortunately, the book went downhill for me from there and at various points I almost wanted to DNF. I did end up reading through the whole thing. I do not think I hate the book, but I am truly not a fan, either.
To avoid spoilers, I will say that I did not find the character development of Udonwa convincing and I cared about her less and less as a character, even though I was still invested in the family's journey towards healing and often found their interactions funny and heartwarming.
I loved the way the siblings reconnect, open up and become more honest with each other as they grow up and the way one or multiple members in the family - sometimes a sibling, sometimes an aunt - are there for each other, even if they don't always know the best thing to do. I loved the author's writing of the mundane and the daily things.
The main character's unconvincing development and the way the impact of The Family Secret being revealed was handled made reading the later part of the book a very frustrating experience.
There are multiple sensitive topics in this book that, in my opinion, are not handled with as much care or nuance as they deserve, such as
I hope the actual book will have a page for content warnings.
I wish I didn't push myself to finish the book as it was clearly not for me. I regret that I am leaving a lukewarm review. I hope it will find its readership.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Abortion, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Infertility
Minor: Car accident and Child death
1. On infidelity: Multiple characters cheat on their spouses or their romantic partners throughout the book.
2. On incest and rape: the protagonist's father raped her eldest sister when she was 14. The protagonist was born as a result of that.
3. On the pro-life-y view on abortion: the protagonist thinks abortion is a serious issue and is akin to taking a life. since the protagonist was born as the result of an incestual rape, she does not seem to think that it necessitates abortion. It is unclear if she ever changed her mind since there were no more conversations about abortions.
4. On homophobia: the protagonist's eldest brother is gay and was once accused of raping an altar boy. The brother said he didn't do it so it was implied that he was accused of rape because people could not accept two men having sex. The protagonist remains unable to accept his homosexuality until the end, though one of her sisters and her love interest have both told her that it is his life and his choice.