Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Góry śpiewają by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

5 reviews

skurtyka89's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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: No

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I loved this book! It has a good balance between historical reality and family fiction. The characters are dynamic and beautiful. A portrayal of hardship, hunger, death, war, violence, separation, family, grief and suffering. The story is intimate from the POVs of a grandmother (who lived through everything) and a granddaughter (who lived through the most recent). The stories of their family members, neighbors and friends are punctuated throughout. Difficult to read in its brutality and harshness. Covers the 1920s-1970s-Great Hunger, Land Reform and Viet Nam War. This novel brings the history of Viet Nam to life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Slavery, Excrement

annorabrady's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Yes

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I loved the look into the history of Vietnam through the generations. The characters and their stories were fully fleshed such that it reads more like a memoir than a historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Police brutality, Abortion

franklola's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War

carlamari_13's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

tumbleweedreads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy

Minor: Chronic illness, Excrement