Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

23 reviews

trizk's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.25

"I felt so very old. At less than twenty-five, before everything that came after, I had no idea how long life was."

Listened to this on audiobook while annotating on my Kindle off and on and the writing blew me away. It's so poetic and beautiful. The way the story is told reminded me of a studio Ghibli film, meaning if you want a fast story WITH action, it will not be here. The author takes their time to tell this story, and it was hard for my neurodivergent ass, but it was well worth it.

Because that ending??? Okayyy...bc why no one told me this shit was lowkey sad asf

 

The audiobook narrator, Cindy Kay, did a very good job of bringing this story to life. Their voice was very soothing and suited the story. It truly captured the feeling of being told a story by someone;

in this case, by rabbit especially.

I definitely would come back to just relisten to the audiobook for a relaxing time, or if I couldn't sleep.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, and Xenophobia

Minor: War, Suicide, and Pregnancy

__codex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Classism, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Violence, Grief, War, and Xenophobia

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is a beautifully woven character study, with a stunning narration, though I understood very little of what was important to the narrative until at least 50% (this may not be a series I can trust myself with on audio - I kept getting distracted and having to rewind!). This is intentionally subtle, and it ultimately made this a reading experience I can't quite sum up. I'll continue the cycle, as I now feel I understand the general outline of the series and its intention, and I'm guessing on a reread this one will improve for me!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Xenophobia

o_romeo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Abandonment, and Infertility

Minor: Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Violence, and Sexual content

khargaotte's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Une magnifique lecture, qui m'a happée plus que je ne l'espérais. Je reste peut-être un peu sur ma faim d'en comprendre plus au sujet du monde créé par l'autrice, mais cela ne me donne que plus envie de lire le reste de la série. La délicatesse avec laquelle l'histoire se tisse, avec laquelle les personnages sont introduits au fil des souvenirs de Lapin, permet de constituer à mesure qu'on avance dans la lecture un tableau qui se dessine petit à petit, par touches, laisse apparaître certains éléments et en laisse d'autres à deviner au lecteur. Un vrai plaisir. 
Cette découverte n'a d'ailleurs pas été desservie par la traduction de Mickael Cabon, qui est d'une finesse très appréciable ! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Xenophobia

Minor: Murder

camryndaytona's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Racism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, War, Murder, Sexism, Xenophobia, Confinement, Violence, and Genocide

fraise's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence, War, Suicide, Infertility, Colonisation, Murder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Slavery

totsfions's review

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a masterful work of storytelling. It's a book fascinated with the historical record, asking what we pass down and what we do not, and why. What responsibility do we have to preserve history, and how do we tell it? What is a matter of record? Who do we make vulnerable when we chose to preserve? What makes this book so compelling, is that the story is not concerned with objective history, as it is the point of view of it's characters. The act of making history is personal. The book becomes a captivating blend of the oral and the written, a reflection on what is seen on the surface and what is revealed through depths of knowledge unavailable to fresh eyes. The rich and vibrant world Vo has created is the perfect vehicle for this line of inquiry, unparalleled in it's creativity and intrigue. I came away from this book feeling at once satiated by the experience and salivating for the answers to it's queries. A wholly worth while read. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Death, and Xenophobia

horizonous's review against another edition

reflective 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? No

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Murder, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Suicide

jjjreads's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Trafficking, Classism, and Slavery

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: War and Violence