Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

3 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Here’s the thing: I can tell this is a wonderful book, but I just couldn’t pay attention. The characters did not click for me, and the structure was difficult to understand via audiobook. I also think, half of the middle section could have been cut out. 

The setting was vivid and complex, the characters, diverse, and the plot mysterious. But overall, not for me. 

I wouldn’t say no to trying it again in print, we will see. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

mftraveller3500's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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INCREDIBLE writing (can feel everything down to the minutia), but a feels like we are seeing a refraction of the world - a more violent and hard and hopeless version where unimagined cruelty is the norm. Second person narration brought me in - it really elevated the stories on stories in stories that are woven into this, and the theatre provided a container that was incomparable. SUCH incredible characters, and the way it all comes together in the end???? PHEW

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail

cadence99's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

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It’s so rare that I find a book that is truly top of my list, five stars, yet this one has absolutely hit it out of the park. A rolling, poetic masterpiece that weaves together two ends of a long tapestry with such beautiful precision. I listened to this one on audio and I’d HIGHLY recommend the experience as it very much feels in the style of oral storytelling. I suspect that this book will stay on my mind for a long time, and it has certainly earned a spot among my all time favorite reads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol