Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

18 reviews

edamamebean's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much, I don’t even know what to do with myself. It was perfect from start to finish, genuinely the best I’ve read from Leigh Bardugo. I’ll be hard pressed to read a book that tops this one all year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Torture, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Murder, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia

ljp817's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: War, Excrement, and Vomit

aliiloue's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

loved the historical world building, the dark vibes, and themes of sin and religion. really liked luiza and santangel but would have liked to see more development in their relationship. i think this will benefit from a reread at some point

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Xenophobia

spicycronereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.5

I am a fan of all of Bardugo’s books but this is probably her most mature work to date. I don’t mean in terms of content necessarily (and certainly not in terms of steaminess). It takes a historical setting and adds magic, which makes it pretty dark. The themes of patriarchy and the violence of men are realized here in a way that you really feel the weight of them and a throughline to present times. Like there is a palpable weariness toward the violence of men and a familiar way that women have to band together for protection. It lends a sobriety or somberness to the text. In addition, the lyricism of Bardugo’s writing is elevated from prior books.

It did take me a bit to get into it. It is in third person POV and the characters are not necessarily likeable. FMC Luzia is sympathetic and she has a certain strength that evolves but I can’t say that I really liked her. The MMC Santángel is blonde, so there’s that 😂 I’m kidding. Mostly. But I would not say he’s a book boyfriend.

I heard Bardugo speak recently and she said Valentina is her favorite character I agree that she has the best character arc. Also, what was the deal with the playwrite? Were her writings influencing things or was she just using everything as inspiration? It kind of felt like that went nowhere.

The magic system is based in language, which seems like it isn’t that common these days. It is done in a way that feels fresh.

In terms of diversity, Luzia and a few other characters are Jewish and living in hiding, having descended from those who converted to Catholicism under the violence of the Inquisition. There are also a few queer folks among the secondary characters.

There is a romance element to the plot. Santángel recognizes Luzia’s strength and helps her develop,

and then gets out of her way (which is one of my favorite micro-tropes(?) in romance.)

. There is a bit of pining and romantic tension. And it becomes a closed door romance. I give it one swoony heart 💖

I actually think it would have been better and more romantic to leave the ending more ambiguous. We have ambiguity around the playwrite and the orange grove is never fully explained. I think it would have improved the book to gesture toward Santángel regenerating each day but not spelling it out. That would have aligned with the weightiness of the setting and would have put this at 5 stars for me.

There is a plot point where the Jewish characters are planning to travel to a land that is sanctuary for them. I was a bit worried it was going to be some kind of Zionist sub-plot but Bardugo has expressed support for Palestine and there is nothing to suggest that this place is intended as an analog to Israel. It is more that the characters are seeking somewhere free from persecution and there is no sense that this requires colonizing another place or displacing other people.

 

Overall, the setting and writing are lush. The plot is interesting and the magic feels fresh, with the weight of historical events adding a somber texture to the book. It was a bit of a slow start but then it really picked up. I really liked it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Infertility and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

There is a threat of sexual assault but it does not occur.

mikaelawithak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death, Confinement, Xenophobia, Violence, Gore, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery

booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.0

Not the book I expected from Bardugo but the one I didn't know I needed. 

This is a book about magic, ancestry, breaking your chains, and changing your fate. It is so different from everything else she has written and I loved it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Racism, and Xenophobia

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Terminal illness, War, Outing, Homophobia, and Rape

chezler24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

"Aboltar cazal, aboltar mazal" (A change of scene, a change of fortune!)

I am so excited for this to come out and for more people to read it! 

Leigh Bardugo has crafted a rich historical fantasy novel set in Spain in the late 16th century. It is magical realism to a tee. The attention to detail regarding the political and religious events during Spain's Golden Age was sublime and the multiple POVs help add layered depth to social and cultural hierarchies of the time. Luzia Cotado has my heart. I was rooting for her all the way before, during, and after the Torneo; her intrapersonal and extrapersonal growth was fascinating to watch develop. In fact, all of the supporting characters added their own nuances to the events at hand and had carefully crafted personalities and plotlines that wove seamlessly into the larger narrative. (Many with fall for Guillén Santángel. I'm predicting it now.) For the magic system, I loved the aspect of weaving languages together and things being pieced together from various scraps here and there. I think I jotted down almost all of the spells that either Luzia or her Aunt Hualit referenced. 

Overall, this book was simply fantastic and deliciously rich. I devoured it, savored it, and wished I could go back and read it again for the first time. 

Read an ARC

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: War, Torture, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness