Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Die sieben Monde des Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

25 reviews

rosalind's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective 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: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Murder, and War

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Minor: Lesbophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, and Genocide

bluedijon's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

Goodness, I loved this book. Maali is such a compelling, complex character, and it was bittersweet joy to follow him through his journey. This book is explicit in its descriptions of the Sri Lankan civil war, and uses the long tradition of magical realism to make sense of the horrors inflicted by people on their neighbors and themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Blood, Homophobia, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Death, and Genocide

clare072's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Violence, Classism, Genocide, Car accident, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, Torture, and War

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Colonisation and Animal death

mrlsdevos's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Genocide, Car accident, Child death, Hate crime, Torture, Racism, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Classism, Mental illness, Slavery, Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide, Colonisation, Car accident, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

aristarcodisamo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, Gore, Violence, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Torture, Car accident, Death of parent, Homophobia, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, Animal death, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Addiction

bronzeageholly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.75

Exceptional. A book about forgiveness and witness, about reflection and observation, politics and religion, humour and pain, war and society, hope and probability, about life after death.

This was an eye-opening and emotional read; I laughed, gasped, cried, and pondered throughout the whole book. Each character was unique and whole, and each aspect of the plot (the personal and the wider political) was interesting and engrossing.   

I was occasionally a little lost in trying to follow where Maali was and build the scenery as he travelled. However, all in all, this book was absorbing, immersive, and captivating. I instantly believed and was wrapped up the magical realism aspect.

Some of the sections - and the philosophising they brought on - will stay with me forever. 

“I've watched your kind. Both as beast and as ghost. I can’t understand why humans destroy when they can create.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Torture, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Homophobia, and Violence

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

“‘This is where dreams are. I come here many times. To visit him and my girls.'

‘Him? You mean God?'

She laughs. ‘No, child. My husband. The father of my babies.'

‘The professor?'

‘He supported me though he didn't agree with me. He stopped all politics after I died. He's Down There. Looking after my girls. He's a lovely father. And I visit him in dreams and tell him whenever I can.'”

I loved this! Long live second-person narration. What a wonderful, moving and dark book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cursing, Death of parent, Classism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Colonisation, Car accident, Child death, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexual violence

lucyeanderson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this was an easy 4.5 stars for me. as much as sometimes i struggled to follow the book, due to its deep and complicated political happenings and cast of characters, i think this was more due to my own non-education on sri lankan history, rather than anything to do with the author or the book. i found this book so interesting. i really didn’t know a lot about it’s setting prior to reading, and thought the cantering of an atheist with an unknown political leaning allowed the events to be showcased clearly. i loved maalis voice, and thought he had the right combination of sardonic humour and cynicism, as well as optimism and light. i found the extended cast of characters incredibly interesting - they represented many different generations, beliefs, and touched on how the events of a country can affect its diaspora as well as its citizens. having read the book, i definitely want to research more about sri lanka and it’s history, and most certainly it’s mythology and belief systems - the inclusion of this as a vessel for the magical realism was so cool to learn through, and gave me an insight into beliefs so different from my own. i was hesitant about the second person perspective, but found that this was the perfect way to present the story, as you felt as though you were experiencing and learning with maali in real time. and that twist?! omg it broke my heart, i did NOT see that one coming. heavy warning for graphic descriptions of violence, though i don’t see it as used unnecessarily and trivially. overall, though i got through it at a slow pace, i really enjoyed reading this book - i’m so glad i found it and got to experience this story. 4.5/5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Confinement, Violence, Classism, Genocide, Car accident, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Death, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

sumunun's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child death, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, and Sexism

peonydancer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

As someone with a Sri Lankan Tamil background, I had mixed feelings about the book. Whilst I loved the inside jokes that anyone from there would tots get about the culture, history, society, etc, Maali himself was a pain in the ass lol. Plus, the book didn't really show the war for what it was and how it started; it started with ultimately, the Anti-Tamil Porgroms enacted by the Sinhalese government and carried by its citizens; the mass murder and displacement of Tamil civilians. Still, I enjoyed the scathing commentary - a very unique book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Body horror, Classism, Genocide, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Infidelity, Animal death, Blood, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Death, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Homophobia