Reviews tagging 'Blood'

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

67 reviews

arayo's review against another edition

dark mysterious

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Blood, and Excrement

hauntedantiqueshop's review

mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Went into this completely blind, had no idea what I was getting into. It was interesting and I really wanted a full, flushed out history of how they got to where they are. I was truly pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma

themelleh's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I will only be truly dead if nobody ever comes, if the centuries, then the millennia go by for so long that this planet,…, no longer exists.

I can see why this book is so divisive. But it was very much a me book. It ripped me open and I absolutely adored being reminded we don’t need to know everything. That life is painful and unfair - sometimes those cages are of our own making. But wow, it’s so beautifully written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt

the_reading_italian's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

This book was a trip. I love the psychology of it. What would happen if one person was left alone for that long, without any knowledge of the world before? It's really intriguing, and I love Jacqueline Harpman's take on it. The writing itself was fantastic, and I did enjoy the descriptions and emotions conveyed through it. The only issue I took with it was the slight inconsistency that I found in the narration - although it is put there on purpose to make the story more believable, it did bug me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Death

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Blood, and Grief

laurakfinnegan's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, and Grief

theabee's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Haunting, and yet somehow there’s  a feeling of hope in how the characters move forward. Despite everything and the many unknowns, they keep planning for the next day, the next year, the next step in their personal growth. They help each other and look out for each other, even at the end of the line

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

_meganrose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This is unlike anything I have ever read. Dark. Mysterious. Chilling. Tragic. I am normally not the biggest fan of dystopian novels, but I really enjoyed this read. Only complaint is the chapters are sooooo long. Wish it would have been divided up a bit more into shorter chapters with all of the same content.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

averyalexis's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

This book made me get introspective and posed a lot of philosophical questions about the human experience. Don’t read if you are looking for something light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Sexual content and Suicide

greenknightemrys's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

iamcarlib's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. Thought provoking, intriguing right from the first page, and the writing style is very different but flows so beautifully. It was a true pleasure to read. I wish I hadn't read it so that I could enjoy it all over again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail