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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Haunting book exploring the darkness of what a war does to a population without directly portraying the war itself.
The book is like a journey into despair where every chapter starts with hope and ends in that hope being deflated once again.
I feel like the controversies around this book which focus on the authors ambiguity on whether or not the book is fictionous or based on his own story does take away from it a little. but if it is considered as a fictional work with events that are only based the general happenings of wartime peasant country it can be forgiven.
at the end I did find the constantsexual abuse and depravity to be a bit overdone and i especially feel like the goat sex scene was better to be left out or replaced all together by something different.
but there are other parts that greatly make up for it, I found the events of the painted bird, which lend the book it's name especially well written although dark it seems like good analogy for the book itself.
The book is like a journey into despair where every chapter starts with hope and ends in that hope being deflated once again.
I feel like the controversies around this book which focus on the authors ambiguity on whether or not the book is fictionous or based on his own story does take away from it a little. but if it is considered as a fictional work with events that are only based the general happenings of wartime peasant country it can be forgiven.
at the end I did find the constant
but there are other parts that greatly make up for it, I found the events of the painted bird, which lend the book it's name especially well written although dark it seems like good analogy for the book itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry
dark
medium-paced
Deeply unsettling. But some unforgettable imagery.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely terrifying - I have never had such a reaction to any book I have ever read, it is that dark and savage and depraved. You want to save that abandoned little boy who wanders around the villages of eastern europe but instead you're forced to watch. I read this in 2008 and the imagery in this book still comes back to haunt me. Hence the 5 star rating. It will make you feel ill and anxious but no one can deny that it is powefully written.
There was no plot in the book, really. Just a cycle of the main character going from village to village, where a lot of fucked up stuff happened to him
Me impresionó mucho la forma en que el protagonista cuenta todas las desgracias que le pasaron y las cosas tan fuertes y terribles que vio sin dejar de percibirse como un niño bastante inocente, aún en los momentos en que esta maldad lo contagiara.
Did you forget for a second that humans can be disgusting and cruel to each other ?
If so, this disturbing book is for you!
If you can stomach it.
If so, this disturbing book is for you!
If you can stomach it.