Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Die sieben Monde des Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

62 reviews

izznzz's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Suicide, Violence, War, Torture, Car accident, Child death, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content

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

athrillerreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is one of my all time favorite book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Grief, Child death, Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Islamophobia

vintesta's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Gore, Torture, and War

lenchen25's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Kidnapping, Violence, Gun violence, Car accident, Gore, Blood, Child death, Animal death, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Alcohol

audacitea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Blood, Child death, Infidelity, and Suicide

Minor: Kidnapping

roseblossom999's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Cursing, Colonisation, Mental illness, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual content, Murder, Rape, War, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Gun violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Car accident

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

I ended up liking this book much more than my initial expectations. 
I quite enjoyed the writing style and the elements of magical realism. The narrative was challenging and even brutal at times, but very much captivating.

I have to admit that I generally struggle with unlikeable characters (especially if they are the main characters) but this is a rare case in which I actually appreciated all of these flawed and at times even unpleasant people, they felt very real and well-rounded in their portrayal.

I also liked that the story is deeply grounded in Sri Lankan history but the narration is not weighed down with long-winded explanatory paragraphs (which I really do not like in fiction as they stand out too much and interrupt the narrative flow), the reader has to pick up pieces of historical information as the narration progresses and/or do further reasearch by themself.

I also want to mention that the final revelation of Maali's fate left me completely stunned, I was speechless, floored, I still cannot believe it, it was truly a plot twist that I did not see coming and it landed like a punch to the stomach. 

Some episodes/sections left me a bit perplexed 

like a section discussing penises, okay I guess?!

or didn't impress me as much as the rest of the story, therefore the 4.5 rating. It is still a book well worthy of your time and that offers a lot to chew on.

Because, on reflection, once you have seen your own face and recognized the color of your eyes, tasted the air and smelled the soil, drunk from the purest fountains and the dirtiest wells, that is the kindest thing you can say abut life. It's not nothing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, War, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Death, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Police brutality, and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Classism, Child death, Infidelity, Blood, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Confinement, Colonisation, Drug use, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Excrement, Abandonment, Abortion, Outing, Fatphobia, Slavery, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Rape, Car accident, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Cancer

helianthus_annuus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Το βιβλίο μου το πρότεινε ο βιβλιοπώλης της γειτονιάς μου και μπορώ να πω ότι άξιζε τα λεφτά του! Πληροφορήθηκα για ένα κομμάτι της ιστορίας μιας χώρας σχετικά άγνωστης σε μένα. Με συγκίνησαν πολλές από τις ιστορίες των δευτερέοντων χαρακτήρων του βιβλίου κι όχι τόσο του πρωταγωνιστή. Η μόνη δυσκολία ήταν να συνηθίσω τα πολλά και διαφορετικά ονόματα, που όμως κατάφερα να τα θυμάμαι μετά από λίγα κεφάλαια.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, War, Animal death, Blood, Child death, and Death

miles's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual harassment