Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Normale mensen by Sally Rooney

246 reviews

emilycrowleyyy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Mental illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

catriona176's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

She writes well but the lack of communication between  the characters became a touch infuriating after a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Abortion

withlivjones's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I really wanted to love this book, especially considering all the hype that surrounds it. And there were definitely things that I enjoyed about it. I thought Connell and Marianne were really interesting as individual characters, Sally Rooney is very good at creating these very flawed but nonetheless relatable and sympathetic characters. Both Connell’s struggles with his mental health and Marianne’s abuse at home which leads her to pursue toxic friendships and relationships outside her home were very interesting to read. It’s a real shame that the relationship between the two was the most boring part of the book. The sentiment of two characters whose lives are intimately tangled together is a very intriguing one, but when their relationship ends up being a continuous cycle of miscommunication after miscommunication, it gets old pretty quickly. If it’s a trope you enjoy, this book will probably be right up your street. But for me, I’ve come to realise that no matter how well written (and this is a very well written book), it’s a trope that I really don’t enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism

itsrua's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

hjb_128's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Misogyny, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent

aroush's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

md1999's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying

orasmis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Eating disorder, and Death of parent

moriahleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent

eliya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This is written so beautifully. The narration is so heartbreakingly aware of minute details that make interactions meaningful. There were so many times listening to this book that I thought “yes!! that!!” at something that i’ve experienced interpersonally and wasn’t able to verbalize myself before. 

The chapters are written not like a story, but like a painful memory that the author is recounting for us as we try to understand what went wrong, where. This felt so real to me. 

Listening to the audiobook was a treat, the vocal performance was as stunning and empathetic. I plan on obtaining a copy of this book for myself and rereading it in a few years, just long enough so that I can forget enough of it to love it a second time. I loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Suicide, War, and Fatphobia