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Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Minor: Death of parent
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Colonisation
Minor: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, War, Classism
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Colonisation
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Xenophobia
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Classism
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation
Minor: Sexism, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Addiction
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Violence
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
I was interested in the revolutionary aspect, the possibility of dismantling empire, the reasons for resistance and the perennial question of whether it is better to resist from within or necessary to have a revolution. However, this wasn't adequately developed, devolving into weak argumentation rather than showing a nuanced consideration through the story.
The character development was weak. Victoire and Letty, two of the main characters, had barely any personality for the bulk of the book, and then towards the end had intense, key roles, but again, not entirely believable because we had no real sense of who they were, in spite of hundreds of pages where we might have gained a sense of them and feel confident that their actions were in keeping with their motivations and their character.
There's a review of The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi that says it "is quite rigorously engaged with the legacies of colonialism and neo-colonialism, [but] is written by someone who benefits from those legacies." (Niall Harrison, as quoted on Wikipedia). I would suggest the same seems to be true of this book.
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Blood