Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Sedam meseca Malija Almeide by Shehan Karunatilaka

119 reviews

fadum35's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

qqjj's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark tense 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: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

unfiltered_fiction's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I can definitely see why this book has been recognised for its literary quality - I've rarely read a novel that has so many lines and paragraphs that have such a poetic profundity. I also think that this story will also teach most readers without deep knowledge of modern Sri Lankan history a phenomenal amount, just as it did for me. My rating has to be limited by a lack of genuine connection with the characters and frustration with the disjointed structure even within short sequences. I think these things are probably intentional, as they are consistent throughout the book, and I'm sure that there will be plenty of readers who can appreciate this approach. It just wasn't something I could get on board with. I also struggled with the fact that this is a story which centres the pain and beauty of human existence, and is excellent at capturing both, yet the inter-character relationships felt lacking in range; they were all very dependent on tension, and there was a lack of softness to throw those sharp edges into relief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol

apworden's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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I read both the ebook and listened to the audiobook (sometimes at the same time). Absolutely loved this book. It was engaging from the start and balanced really heavy material with subtle dark humor. It was a fascinating look into Sri Lanka in the late ‘80s/early 90’s. I felt like I went on the philosophical journey about the meaning of life right along with Maali. If you like magical realism mixed with historical fiction I recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment, War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Classism

hedsek's review against another edition

3.25

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Conceptually I really like this, but the writing style did not work well for me. I only really felt invested during the last quarter of the book, the rest of the time I sort of didn't care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation

nialiversuch's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious reflective sad 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: Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, War

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Car accident

lydia_reads's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, War

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry

Minor: Torture

issyd23's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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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Maali a bad bitch that came from Sri Lanka 3👻

Giving major Cantik itu luka/Beauty is a wound vibes: magical realism at the height of violence of the civil war. 

A must read for anyone wanting to know more about one of the bloodiest civil wars of the 20th century.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Classism

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident