Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Drageløberen by Khaled Hosseini

74 reviews

theemster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Watch the trigger warnings, this one is heavy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shiftycow1313's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mauricekofi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

This book absolutely broke me and made me whole, over and over again. All I will say is I should have listened to my friend when she told me she cried as a child reading this book, it's not for the light of heart. Yet still, Hosseini impacts a critical understanding of life and consequences for those in the global south, through the lens of an Afghan boy, grown into a man, who lived in privilege before his country turned to ruin by the policies of European and Western powers. My review does not do justice for how wonderfully sad, informative, and foundational this book is. In a post-Afghanistan war America, I dearly wish more Americans and young students read this book, to ask themselves why we are taught the things we know about other countries and challenge when and where American "intervention" is needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Terminal illness, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

b3ttysbooks33's review against another edition

informative reflective sad tense fast-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

This book is not only a relatable, emotional story about regret, but also a haunting and impactful insight into the tragic historical and ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

note: some people criticize the depictions of religion and politics, but I feel that because most of these controversial opinions come from characters who is clearly deeply flawed, the author leaves room for such issues to be discussed rather than dictating a specific narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

hedyharper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

quinn24's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This was a painful read, and I mean that as big compliment. I really don’t know much at all about Afghanistan’s history or culture and I think I learnt a lot from this, and am interested in learning more, which I really love when a book does that for me. The characters all feel very human, and complex. Amir is an interesting protagonist, he makes some really bad decisions that hurt people in a terrible way but I also feel the need to defend him, and I think his arc was very well done. This novel is imbued with a deep sense of grief. Grief of a childhood, of innocence, of loved ones, and of a homeland. It’s emotional whiplash tied up in beautiful writing and narrative structure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Genocide, Suicide, Alcohol, and War

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

eilif_has_no_gender's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

It isn't a bad book but it just isn't the type of book for me.

I personally think most realistic fiction books aren't entertaining. Sure a lot are well written I just don't think they are fun to read.

This book was one of them. It isn't a book I would've picked on my own. It was well written though so minus personal preference there is nothing wrong with it.


Also if anyone is like, "Why did they put it wasn't diverse?" A story where most characters are part of the same minority is just as not diverse as one where most characters are not part of a minority.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Trafficking

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

soniaiscool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

kyliebloch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and War