Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi

2 reviews

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

'Goliath' by Tochi Onyebuchi is an insightful and lyrical novel that looks at the inequalities of space travel through the eyes of those who are left behind. 
The story weaves between different characters who live on or are visiting Earth. Those with money have left earth for the Colony, leaving behind a world that is plagued by poor air quality, housing inequality, and police violence. Through snippets of these characters' lives paired with occasional articles and recordings, Oneyebuchi demonstrates how venturing into the stars is for those who are wealthy and white while those who have historically been abused by systems continue to be hurt on what remains of Earth. 
Oneybuchi paints a future that is keenly connected to our present and feels that way. By focusing on the characters and their lived experiences, he distills systemic horrors down to the people that it directly affects, making those horrors even more apparent. Despite this story being informed by space travel, we very rarely see any of the characters in the colonies. This story is about those that the world has left behind and failed to care for. The characters and their lives are painted in stark but human strokes using Onyebuchi's evocative prose. It feels as if one has been plopped down in this world and is walking around in it, especially as he showcases the small human moments that make up lived experiences. 
I believe this is a book that should be read by a book club that can reflect on and dissect all that Onyebuchi is doing. This should definitely be taught in schools as it discusses a lot about our current lives while exploring how these problems could only grow worse in this possible future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Classism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug use, Grief, Police brutality, and Violence

jo_lzr's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, Drug use, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, and Infidelity

Minor: Rape