Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin

7 reviews

alisair's review

dark emotional funny sad fast-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

4.75

Thisread was truly enjoyable. I really loved that you got a chance to read the perspective of each wife as well as their husband. It allowed you to gain more insight on their childhood, and their background before they met their husband. You got the full essence of what their lives were like before and their traumatic experiences that molded their current personality. This also impacted the decisions they made within their lives. It was very fast paced and well written. I didn't necessarily love all the characters but I understood them. However, this book has some very triggering topics about abuse, so I would read with caution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Infertility, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Self harm, Vomit, Child death, Death, and Child abuse

smiti_nathan's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

I  listened to this as an audiobook, and it blew me away. The author, Lola Shoneyin, did an excellent job narrating the novel and her oration brought it to life for me. It's a quick-paced book that I enjoyed on a long-haul plane ride. My favorite part of the book was how she built up the complexity and humanity of her main characters, especially all four of Baba Segi's wives, and a few side characters. Many of the backstories were heartbreaking (i.e., TW for graphic sexual assault), and the author did a fantastic job of balancing heartbreak, tragedy, humor, and hope. The ending was quite satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Sexism

Minor: Police brutality

jjjreads's review

dark informative medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Vomit

kbbq_master's review

emotional 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

5.0

A book of parables and religious trauma mixed with infidelity. I really like the prose and the diversity of the characters. Each point of view was unique and helped further along the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Infertility, and Abortion

blessing_aj's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Just as good as it was the first time I read it. 

I started off with the physical copy and switched to the audiobook halfway through and kept on alternating. The author narrates it herself and it was a stellar production. Added so much life into an already lively book. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Rape, and Death of parent

Moderate: Physical abuse and Bullying

translove's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, and Vomit

womanwill's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Vomit, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Murder