Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Die sieben Monde des Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

53 reviews

bethsicle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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: Violence, Suicide, Murder, Homophobia, War, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Car accident, Torture, Outing, Cursing, Colonisation, Alcohol, Child death, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Addiction, Classism, Hate crime, Drug use, Blood, Gore, and Genocide

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

emjbarnes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

I usually prefer shorter books, and it took me a while to get through this, but it was so worth every page. There isn't a word wasted and the cast of so many characters comes together perfectly at the end. It's a very difficult read but I'd highly recommend it - just read the content warnings first!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Police brutality, Racism, Murder, Infidelity, Gun violence, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Torture, and War

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Listen, this was a very well-written, imaginative book, and the depictions of the horrors enacted during the Sri Lankan civil war were truly gruesome. It just wasn’t for me. 

When I read the synopsis, the supernatural element excited me, but I didn’t take into account that this story is primarily a political thriller first, ghost story second. I would absolutely recommend it to someone who’s into that sort of thing, I am just not that person. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Gore, War, and Police brutality

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Genocide, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Car accident

joannasomasundaram's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective 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

Beautifully written. Shehan Karunathilaka takes you on a journey through the eyes of a dead journalist as he navigates the afterlife during the civil war in Sri Lanka. This book masterfully illustrates the struggle of the Sri Lankan working class during an era of rampant corruption through humour and wit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Murder, War, Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug use, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Genocide

Minor: Car accident, Alcohol, and Blood

helenaeoftroy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Torture, Colonisation, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Genocide, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Blood, and War

eilatan6991's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, War, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Car accident, Confinement, Sexual assault, Child death, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

knhall14's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Grief, War, Torture, Kidnapping, Suicide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident and Child death

Minor: Drug use and Cancer

eileenp59's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Hate crime, Suicide, Police brutality, Genocide, Death, Torture, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Child death

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

‘They say that laughter is music but that is just one of the thousand untruths we suckle ourselves with. Some laughs are peakened, some are hideous, some can curdle blood.’

‘We must all find pointless causes to live for, or why bother with breath.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, War, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

drapetomaniac's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

First, getting a bit of context about the Sri Lankan civil war is essential to fully understand what is going on. 
As for the actual review, while the book started out a bit slow, it picked up and quickly became difficult to put down. Trying to guess if Maali will side with Sena or Dr Ranee is something on your mind throughout the book, and each new piece of information is unexpected yet cohesive. Karunatikala’s interpretation of the afterlife is well-developed and interesting and offers insight on how those who are dead continue to influence people who are still living. 
Overall, it’s a fantastic read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Torture, and Suicide

Minor: Car accident and Drug use