Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Góry śpiewają by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

40 reviews

mirrie's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder

menomica's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book is so eye-opening. I learned a lot about the Vietnam War and Vietnam in general. The book is constant tension and tragedy; You see on the ground how people were affected by the events of the war. It’s definitely not for everyone, it’s very dense and at times it drags, and the writing can be a bit stilted, but if you can sit down and allow yourself to feel the emotions of the Tram family, it’s very much worth it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Slavery, Abortion

samgiraffes's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion

claudia_bow's review against another edition

emotional 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: Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Rape, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy

ktrecs's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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The scope and breadth of this novel is ambitious, and, I think, perhaps its downfall. In trying to show so much of Viet Nam's history, the narrative jumps through time in an inconsistent way, especially in Grandma Dieu Lan's perspective. In being tailored for a unfamiliar audience, the narration includes jarring moments, especially in the first half of the novel, where the prose digresses into unnecessary historical facts and figures, breaking the stride of the novel's plot and undercutting its heart.  In being written for an English-speaking audience, words in Vietnamese are almost always followed by a shoehorned definition, making the narrative voice feel clunky and inauthentic in places, especially in dialogue. At the beginning, especially in audiobook format, these peculiarities made it difficult for me to become immersed in the story and attached to the characters. It was not at all that the information was there; I am extremely grateful for the context and knowledge, just that I felt that the more non-fiction elements were less thematically successful and articulated with less poise and beauty, than the emotional core of the novel.

But by the 50% mark, I was hooked.  I have trouble DNFing books and books like this are exactly why. Had I decided to set this book aside I'd have missed the growth and nuance in the later half. All throughout, the prose is alternatively lush and crushing, evocative and tender. Each scene is built with such precision and care. Each generation of the Tran family is weaved carefully into the structure of the novel, part epistolary, part oral tradition, stories upon stories, realistic and compelling. As Hương ages and time inexorably moves forward, the tale becomes more intimate somehow. The poetic close of the novel drew its themes together perfectly, leaving us with a vision of hope and peace even throughout the dark events laid out in the past. The intimacy of it brings the personal into the political in an unforgettable way. 

Nguyen Phan Que Mai's voice is clear, profound and powerful, and I will certainly look forward to encountering it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement

mitzybitzyspider's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent

womanwill's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative reflective sad

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: Child death, Death, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Abortion

storiesofsophie's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective fast-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: Complicated

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A great, emotional book. Deeply examines the tensions between Northern and Southern Vietnam. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Abortion

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality

angelicathebookworm's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death

heatherinjapan's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I absolutely loved this book!! I flew through it so quickly and was touched immensely by everything in the story. It's new favorite. 

Be forewarned though, if you pick up this book, make sure you're in a good place mentally at the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief