Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

14 reviews

nicola_scutt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

Minor: Racism, Abortion, War, Self harm, Addiction, and Alcoholism

almel07's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

Though I never found myself dying to jump back into this book, I always found myself hooked once I’d already pick it up. 

This story felt like such a personal approach to the question: would you live your life differently if you knew exactly when it would end? 

It follows the lives of four siblings who learn early on in the book the exact date in which they each will die. You then begin to see how this knowledge begins to impact their lives leading to their inevitable deaths. Though it followed four different storylines it never felt completely disconnected as each sibling always tied in with the others. However, because it followed all four of their lives individually it allowed the reader to experience different parts of the country through the span of different decades. 

Overall it was beautifully written and thought-provoking. I’d definitely recommend if you’re looking for something that ignites some discussion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Death, and Grief

bradycherish's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty and Racism

mekowaletti's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Homophobia

Moderate: Suicide and Xenophobia

Minor: Racism

cyntismiles's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

I really liked this book! It was recommended by one of my coworkers, I thought I read it but I hadn't so gave it a go!

I really liked the amount of time we spent with each character and how the author chose the timeline focus for each one. After the first section, I thought we were going to go "back to the beginning" with each one and redo all the events through their eyes. We did not and I was grateful. I found the scope of each character very artfully chosen and well done. I also enjoyed the "mystery" of the book and seeing how it affected each character. 

I really liked how you could tell they were all siblings but at the same time so different. It felt very real to me. There was one specific trait all the characters had that felt very "off" to me but it was resolved in the end which I really enjoyed. I'll add it in the spoiler section if you are curious.  

All the characters consistently acted like they were the only people who had ever experienced family tragedy which was annoying. It took me until Clara's section to identify it esp. in regards to how she responded to her husband. I think it sheds a good light on moving forward with grief vs stagnating in grief. I was really happy to see this somewhat resolved in Varya's section

 

I was super sucked into this book and wanted to find out what would happen to each character. I was most interested in Varya's chapter/perspective so it was kind of a "save the best for last" situation for me. There was a lot of discussion of mental illness in this book and I thought it was done really well. 

I would recommend if you are looking for an accessible novel that asks questions about the placebo effect, human nature, and self-fulfilling prophecy. It's interesting and reflective on the human condition and what we are all inevitably moving towards, death.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Addiction, Xenophobia, Suicide, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, and Racism

archivofrances's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Racism, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry

jessthanthree'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Violence, Mental illness, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

Simon, Klara, Daniel und Varya - 
das Leben der vier Geschwister wird in diesem Buch nacheinander dargestellt. Alles beginnt mit dem Tag, an dem sie ihren Todestag erfahren. Eine einschneidende Erfahrung für die Kinder damals, die sie ihr ganzes Leben begleitet. Es werden glaubhaft dynamische Familienbande gezeigt, der Einfluss von Religion und Spiritualität auf das Leben wird behandelt und Sexualität und mentale Gesundheit wird angesprochen. Dir zentrale Diskussion jedoch, die ebenfalls gen Ende sehr elegant direkt in den Text eingewoben wird, ist, Leben vs. Überleben. Wie verhält man sich im Angesicht seines eigenen Ablebens? Geht man lieber auf Nummer sicher und versucht die Zukunft doch noch etwas zu beeinflussen oder nimmt man die Zeit, die man hat und macht das beste draus? Lieber im Jetzt leben oder im Potential der Zukunft? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

ashleykarime's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

3.5

I thought it had an interesting concept but the sex scenes put me off for months. When I finally continued reading, I was kind of bored. I thought the first two characters were more interesting than the last two. Klara was my favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Antisemitism, Racism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide

jarnbooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book. Not initially, I hated  the first 100 pages because of the EXPLICIT descriptions of sex but I enjoyed the character. The story of the Gold siblings makes you think about if you want to live or survive and how much time we really have to do it. Each sibling has their own story to tell that each give a different lesson in a different time period that makes them feel real. There were some character decisions that I thought were a little quick but it adds to the story in the moment. There is a character for everyone to have some relation to. Each character is so strong in their passions and it’s genuinely interesting to see how each of the siblings go about their lives and the time they have left. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Death, Child death, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic relationship, War, Racism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Stalking, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, Homophobia, Car accident, Cancer, Bullying, Antisemitism, Abortion, Abandonment, and Gun violence

Most of these are in Simon and Klara’s parts which you can pretty much skip as the important parts are mentioned in the other parts.