Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

10 reviews

ysabear's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I read this for book club. It's not something I would have chosen for myself but the politics, filial hierarchy and socioeconomic commentary in this book felt so familiar to me as someone from a developing Southeast Asian country. This is almost a slice-of-life about a wealthy doctor and an impoverished boy whose lives sometimes intertwine because they interact with the same people. The quality of the writing is top-notch but be warned--this book is heartbreakingly sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Kidnapping

kwahl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

amberinpieces's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Classism, Sexism, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, and Child death

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This story reminded me a lot of Mistry’s A Fine Balance. I admired her ability to weave the characters stories and reveal so much through showing rather than telling. The tragedies felt earned but not inevitable and every word of the story felt like it described the situation perfectly. it was difficult to read at times because of the subjects, but all were handled very well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Classism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Murder, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Cursing

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Suicide

qqjj's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Police brutality, Medical content, and Physical abuse

rebeccajlachance's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

erebus53's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I went into this book not knowing anything about it. As a result I was about 9 hours in before I started seeing the point of the book. It really starts with slice of life things, and a broad cast of Nigerian characters, and it is difficult to see all the connections that will eventually be built. 

Amongst the main players are,
a woman who is a doctor who is being pressured by family to marry the man she has been dating,
his father who is a politician,
her mother who is trying to hold a family together,
the woman she buys her handmade dresses from,
a boy who works in the tailoring shop,
his family and their hopes and financial struggles that have been immense since his father was laid off by government funding cuts for schools.

These disparate characters seem to have little in common except locality. Each has their own history, drives and challenges. The pace is slow and half way through I was feeling a little lost when it came to understanding the significance of some things. Although frustrating, this is part of the point of the book. Without a big picture of what is going on, it is easy to ignore small things that contribute to a problem. This is a major theme of the story, but it takes a back seat to the unfolding interplay of characters.

As a backdrop we see a country that lives with shortage of medical and teaching staff (caused in part by the exodus of graduate students), and a divide between rich and poor that leaves those who are destitute or disabled begging on the streets. There is also some disability narrative with a mother who is terrified that her children will be Dyslexic, because she feels that her personal survival was only possible due to marrying a man with a good job.

Logical things happen but it still feels affronting. The last 5% of the book is a rollercoaster of tenseness and revelation, and emotional resonance that would only be possible with the time and love that the reader invests in the characters to this point. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes character driven stories, has a lot of patience, and an interest in Nigeria.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Ableism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Abandonment, and Cancer

Minor: Alcohol, Mental illness, and Suicide

bibliophile_nemo's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Death

auteaandtales's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Eating disorder, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, and Gun violence