Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Sedam meseca Malija Almeide by Shehan Karunatilaka

115 reviews

joannasomasundaram's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny 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: No

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Beautifully written. Shehan Karunathilaka takes you on a journey through the eyes of a dead journalist as he navigates the afterlife during the civil war in Sri Lanka. This book masterfully illustrates the struggle of the Sri Lankan working class during an era of rampant corruption through humour and wit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood, Car accident, Alcohol

helenaeoftroy's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War

herasrevenge88's review against another edition

2.0

dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

potterpav's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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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this book was a weird one for me . the first part felt like dragging my feet through a river (going against the tide i suppose) but then it picked up abt 45% in . the plot was good although i felt it a bit rushed at times , esp toward the end , although i understood the book couldn’t go on forever . i also don’t rlly understand why he was so insistent on the negatives coming out when nothing even happened when it did .. maybe i just missed something though . overall it was a fun read but not one i’ll come back to in my daydreams i don’t think . after putting in the CWs it looks absolutely crazy but i guess it is lmao

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Religious bigotry

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt

shashashasha's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Classism

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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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Set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War, this is a surrealist and metaphysical take on a murder mystery in which a ghost must find his killers, protect his friends and boyfriend, and decide whether or not to move on or seek revenge. This book was a wild ride and I largely enjoyed it.

Witty prose. Fun characters. A vibrant world. Karunatilaka also did a great job at bringing us into the backdrop of the war without ever getting us bogged down in it. Sometimes I struggled with the sheer amount of characters (some with multiple nicknames) and also the way the narrative seamlessly moved between the metaphysical plane, the real world, and also flashback. Oftentimes I would find myself needing to go back over pages to resituate myself in the narrative. But overall, it was a good read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

knhall14's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Car accident

Minor: Cancer, Drug use

eileenp59's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, War

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Car accident, Colonisation

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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‘They say that laughter is music but that is just one of the thousand untruths we suckle ourselves with. Some laughs are peakened, some are hideous, some can curdle blood.’

‘We must all find pointless causes to live for, or why bother with breath.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

rkap's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Murder

Minor: Genocide, Kidnapping, War