Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Sedam meseca Malija Almeide by Shehan Karunatilaka

115 reviews

ellie_1997's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad 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: Addiction, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Sexual content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Classism

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Rape

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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It takes a beat to get into/keep up with the flow of narration, but this plot is incredibly inventive and rich with detail. Definitely worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

moonienoire's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

laura227_'s review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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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Magical realism at its finest. I loved every second of it and I learned so much about Sri Lanka. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation

rachelemiller's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

hannahharry's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark 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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This book was definitely a challenge. At the start, the large cast of characters and unfamiliar dialect made it tough to keep up, and the writing was so subtle that I often wondered if I had missed something important. But that very quality kept me hooked. Karunatilaka is undeniably a gifted writer, and at times, the book felt almost cinematic. 

The writing is so subtle and finely-tuned that when something resurfaces later in the book, it almost feels like a revelation. The beauty of it is that the writer doesn’t shove this connection in your face. Instead, he trusts the reader to pick up on the details, allowing the story to unfold organically without being heavy-handed. It’s a quiet form of storytelling that rewards attention to detail. 

I was unsure about the use of second-person narration going in, but now that I’ve finished, I can’t imagine the story working as well in first or third person. 

DD, Jaki, and Maali are such richly drawn, complex characters. I’ll miss them. Despite its challenges, I’m glad I read this novel and can see why it has received so much critical acclaim. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War

Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping

meepmoopbeepboop's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark funny reflective 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: Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief

Minor: Animal death

chantelkatharina's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Child death

anidaher's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 11%

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Too dark and sad 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Murder

Moderate: Violence, War

sangsmiles's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

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: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Car accident