Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

21 reviews

kukazashi's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Child death, Murder, and Racism

andrewspink's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

This is the sort of book that I would not normally choose, but our book club had picked it, so I read it. It is a family drama, running over the best part of a century, not really my thing. That shows how useful book clubs are, without them, I would have missed a treat. The reader is swept along by the tide of history, seen from the perspective of one family. As the book progresses, we pass from the mother to the son to his daughter. Several key themes are dealt with, including trauma (and how childhood trauma can affect later life) and migrating between cultures. These are discussed effectively, raising interesting thoughts and questions. 
It is a real page-turner, I was keen to know what happened next. To some extent, the plot was quite predictable though, given that it was driven by historical events, so that in global terms the reader often knows what will be coming next.
The book is written in a straightforward style, which makes it very readable. There are a few odd features, such as the consistent use of 'quieten' instead of 'quiet'. I suppose they were meant to sound Chinese, but I'm not sure whether that worked. It was over-sentimental in places for my taste, but perhaps that is unavoidable given the subject matter. 
China has been giving out signals that it wants Taiwan 'back'. This book is also a useful reminder of the history behind that claim.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Rape, Violence, and Racism

e_freckles's review

emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Rape, and Dementia

emi_momo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, War, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Grief, Racism, and Death of parent

heytherekhalyla's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, War, and Racial slurs

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

This was a terrific multi-generation historical fiction book.  The history of the Chinese-Japanese War and the Civil War that followed it was new to me.  And I think this might be the first book I've read with a setting in Taiwan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Racial slurs, War, Violence, and Vomit

darkhorse488's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs

crystaldragonst's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.25

This book is a beautiful work of historical fiction that focuses on the love, the loss, and the lives of Chinese during the War of Aggression / World War II and the years after. I don’t typically like historical fiction, but this book was interesting and vibrant. The story is rich in description and I really enjoyed the Chinese fables woven throughout. What’s interesting is that the story is told from third person which allows the reader to access multiple characters thoughts and feelings through the narrator. Through this story, I felt that the choice to use a narrator also created a sense of a parent telling a child a story, which fits with the storytelling idea within the book. There is some graphic content including one of the main characters being raped.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, and War

qiaosilin's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Child death and Death

jmitchell20's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

4.25

A moving story of a Chinese family dealing with generational trauma caused by wars and displacement through the 20th century. It was educational without feeling fact-heavy. Really felt for every family member during the difficult choices they were forced to make. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Violence, and War