Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Promise by Damon Galgut

45 reviews

rosy_carolynne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Suicide and Alcoholism

Minor: Incest and Eating disorder

heather077's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Classism and Eating disorder

hgallagher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Classism, and Alcoholism

Minor: Chronic illness

thebowandthebook's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Very interesting read, it hopped around a good bit. Writing style was different then my normal reads but enjoyed it. Bit crude,unfiltered examination of people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Classism, Death of parent, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder, Incest, and Infertility

your_true_shelf's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

I can't fault the writing of this book, but I couldn't wait for it to end, it just wasn't my thing.  The author is clearly an amazing writer.  I just couldn't care less about the characters (apart from Salome) and I felt that we didn't get to know them well at all.  Plus there was very little in the way of plot.  Sorry, just not for me! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Suicide

_chonklord_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Car accident, Colonisation, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, and Suicide

holly_daze_'s review

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Death

Minor: Cancer

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism

bealmg's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Apartheid has fallen, see, we die right next to each other now, in intimate proximity. It's just the living part we still have to work out.

I absolutely loved Galgut's writing, I think it is the strongest aspect of this novel. We have a sarcastic and unrealiable narrator who weaves in and out of each characters' perspectives to reveal their innermost thoughts and motivations. Although this can be disorienting, it was brilliantly done - and it reflects, I believe, the turmoil and chaos in post-Apartheid South Africa.
I also really enjoyed the complicated and messy family dynamics and how the characters interacted with one another, often leaving more things unsaid than said; it is up to us, the reader, to join the pieces of the puzzle and to interpret their silences.
However, I wished we had seen more of Salome and her son Lukas. Perhaps that was on purpose - after all, this is a story about South Africa and the post-Apartheid promises that were never really fulfilled. Still, I would have liked to know more about these two characters and I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of racial relations in post-Apartheid South Africa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Gaslighting and Racism

joewooley's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Alcoholism