Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

7 reviews

srm's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

3.75

There's a lot I like about this book, but ultimately it's a loooooooooooong time to spend to get where we got.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Murder

Minor: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Death, Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Gun violence

jelliestars's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Blood, Death, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Violence

Minor: Suicide attempt, Torture, Islamophobia, Suicide, Car accident, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Stalking, Medical content, Rape, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Mental illness, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, War, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

spellbookspines's review

adventurous informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Death, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

eleanora's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Genocide, Grief, Miscarriage, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Racism, and War

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Animal death, and Confinement

Minor: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Sexism, Death of parent, Genocide, Miscarriage, Alcohol, and War

malloryfitz's review

dark

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, and Torture

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

 I just read the best and funniest 1 star review for this book and I agree with everything in it. I still give this book 4 stars just because it satisfied a very very niche interest of mine.
If you want to read a scary vampire story, some kind of Dracula retelling or a fast paced adventure. This book is not for you. If - like me - you love reading, research, solving mysteries by visiting old libraries and reading old books and travel. Well, this is perfect.
The structure of this book is a little complicated. Basically it's a story within a story within a story, told mostly in letters and book excerpts, spanning several decades (between 1930s and 1970s) and countries (UK, Netherlands, France, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria...). It's about the search for the grave of the historical figure Vlad III, Dracula, but also for some historians lost during their research. (Basically Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones for people who hate action. ^^v)
This book is extremely slow paced and looooong and story driven. The main characters are some of the flattest characters I've ever encountered (I had trouble remembering who was telling parts of the story because their voices were basically identical) but I loved most of the people they met on their way and got help from. And when the story is the main focus of the book, I don't mind when there is no character development. Maybe the book also could have been a little shorter by eliminating the daughters story line... completely? That didn't interest me very much tbh. And my main problem with the book was the writing. I didn't enjoy it at all. But after reading some quotes from the English original, I think the issue is with my German translation.
I get btw that the whole resolution why all of this happened in the first place was a little ridiculous. But I thought it was refreshing and I like how it explains the book title. :D (I alsway love when the book title has more than one meaning) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts