Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Sedam meseca Malija Almeide by Shehan Karunatilaka

204 reviews

whirl's review against another edition

3.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, War

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping

lanid's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious reflective tense

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content

Minor: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment

sinewton's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, War

strugglecity's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, War

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Colonisation

Minor: Suicide, Torture, Police brutality

regans's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, War

Moderate: Drug use, Torture, Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism

lynnereadsmanybooks's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, War

Moderate: Torture, Islamophobia

rosalind's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Genocide, Blood, Lesbophobia

mattiaforc's review against another edition

3.25

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was an interesting read. I went into this with very little knowledge of the civil war in Sri Lanka, but came out with a general understanding of the time and what it was like to live within it. This was partially a result of the book, but I was also intrigued enough to engage in my own research, which I think was the best way to read this book and if this doesn't sound like an interesting time to you, then this book may not work as well for you. The second-person prose was an interesting choice that I wasn't sure about at first, but I think it worked for the story, or at least didn't take away from the narrative the author was trying to tell. Magical realism in a book about civil war was a choice I was intrigued but wary about going into this, but the balance between the realistic and unrealistic worked in this context to show Maali's life, his photography and the brutalities of the civil war. Aside from the brutalities of war that the book showed, it was actually quite funny and sarcastic and witty at times, which was a good contrast to some of the intense content covered. There were parts of this novel that were a little repetitive and slow-paced, which is why it wasn't a five star for me, but I enjoyed the reading experience, even if the content and storyline of the book was not necessarily "enjoyable". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, War

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder

Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Alcohol

chrisiant's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It took me several false starts, but once I was in I was hooked. Vivid sensory descriptions of Sri Lanka  and all its ghosts, and lots of intrigue, corruption, suffering and striving for redemption. It’s a wild ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War

Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence