Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden

46 reviews

rain_bellin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

dlsmk's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism

5aru's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I'll admit I walked into this expecting a fictional story — which is partly why I was so surprised, though pleasantly, at the turn it took. Weaving truth with fiction (and, in so doing, creating a fiction that rings true), the book becomes a poignant reflection on Life, Death, Time, and Love, and their many roles and many faces. It almost feels like a manifesto for the disenfranchised and the lost, one that encourages humankind to remember why we die — or, in other words, why we live —, and thus to understand that we are made to care for one another.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Torture and Violence

Minor: Sexual violence

whiterabbitslibrary's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This isn’t a story in a traditional sense and that’s no bad thing. It reads more like a collection of notes, poems, diary entries and other assorted papers and for me it evokes the idea of sorting through a loved ones papers when they have died, teasing out the connections, why these things are kept together. 
The narrative perspective shifts between the “narrator” Wolf and the titular character “Mrs Death” and others occasionally seem to take on the role in tandem but in each case the prose is intriguing, intense and somehow both ferocious and reflective. I really enjoyed this book, and I expect to come back to it again and again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse and War

sws_1319's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is unlike anything I’ve read. The book is more speculative, being more a compilation of different types of prose rather than just a normal story with chapters. Although underneath all the different thoughts and feelings, there is a baseline story, I don’t think that’s really the point of the book. The subject is more the feelings and thoughts surrounding death and the passing of people around us, and the changes and affects that has on us. 

altogether it was an interesting and unique read. I did find some of the book a little tedious and hard to get through, but overall the book was interesting. Enjoyed reading it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

the tags have all been tagged in the explicit section. Although none are described in masses of detail, some of them did make me feel uncomfortable and they are themes that run throughout the book. The narrator, Wolf, struggles with mental health issues due to his past which relates to a lot of these tags. I would advise to read with caution, even though some of it isn’t explicit it is obviously hinted at and talked about

being_stupid's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The writing style is what made me read it entiterly. Because the story doesn't seem to go anywhere when u read it. I don't think it does. But through the story a lot of themes are "talked about". Like barely. Just à hint.
And that's what's weird to me, it seems to be a message but you can't figure it out. 
Plus there are some disturbing scenes and I don't know why they're here. Like how was it revenant to the story. 

At some point there's a scene where a black girl takes her tit out at laugh, stick her tongue out too. And for no reason. To see her as the bad twin there were other ways than depicting a black girl in the 1700 as crazy. I mean I get it, kind of, the point she's trying to make. I don't see how this in particular was useful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Murder and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, and Islamophobia

jasperw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was amazing. It's hard to write a review because I think people need to go in. I will say that I think anyone grieving- and that could be anything (a person, a dream, the planet)- this is such an impactful read.

I gave it 4 stars at this moment because it just feels right. There is SO much in this book, and I don't think I got it all this read. I want to read this again in a couple years, and try and tie together even more of what I missed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault

There are a lot of discussions of death (not surprisingly). Some of them are graphic. it's hard to remember them all at this time so just general trigger warnings for lots of areas.

kylajaynebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

rieviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is certainly quite peculiar in terms of narrative form and also of point of view (the chapters from the perspective of a desk, I mean what was that?!). 
I think that when it worked for me, it worked really really well and I was left really impressed by the writing style and the profound and poignant exploration of a certain topic. However, when it didn't work, it really really didn't work for me and I just felt very confused and like the narrative style had been overdone a bit too much. 
Also, some sections where the character of Death was talking sounded to me too much like an essay, maybe too much "telling, and not showing", not very subtly handled. 

At times it felt a bit overly graphic (the list of content warnings is so long that, honestly, it'd be easier to say what is not included) and I'm not sure if it was really necessary for the story. So many examples of very brutal crimes are included and the section with example after example of different types of deaths is quite taxing to get through.

I think it was a bit of a mixed bag for me but I'm still glad to have tried something a bit out of of my literary comfort zone. 

You grow and
become who you are 
you grow into your shape
I could have been anything
but this was the shape the world 
carved into me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Blood, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Slavery, Physical abuse, Cursing, Cannibalism, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, War, Torture, Fatphobia, Trafficking, Transphobia, and Addiction

katiewhocanread's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Classism, Child death, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Minor: Cannibalism