Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

جزيرة الأشجار المفقودة by Elif Shafak

39 reviews

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? Yes

3.75

I did not mind the peculiar narrator, aka the fig tree, but I think that its narration was maybe given a bit too much space at the expense of the human characters. They felt a bit surface level, I would have liked for the author to delve more into their characterizations and relationships.

Also, the final revelation left me a bit perplexed, I was not expecting it and I think that it added an ulterior element of magical realism that felt a bit like too much.

Still, the writing style was really good, maybe just at times it felt a bit overdone, that is overly sentimental for my taste or going a bit overboard with the metaphors.

Overall it was a nice reading experience, that taught me a lot about the natural world and about a time and place that I knew nothing about. 
Also, please give me an entire book on Yiorgos and Yusuf's backstory (*crying in extreme sadness*). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Gun violence, Death, War, Abortion, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Child death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Infidelity, Cancer, Torture, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, War, Homophobia, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Child death

Moderate: Abortion

rosalind's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

profdevochka's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Death, Violence, War, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Child death, Grief, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

wossyboy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? Yes

5.0

It took me a while to come to terms with this book after I read it. I knew it was brilliant, but I had to take some time to slowly churn my way through the brilliance. I loved the addition of the tree narrator.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Child death

Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Xenophobia

lucyselim's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, War, Animal death, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

lollyreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide and Animal death

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous informative 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

whataboutzana's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Hate crime