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Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Violence, War
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
I would recommend this book to anyone who has the stomach for some mildly graphic descriptions of gore and the effects of war.
If you enjoyed this book/review, you may be interested in checking out other books I recommend: https://www.gossamerlens.com/post/2024-full-year-reading-wrap
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment
I struggled with the first two thirds of this book, which felt like a protracted setting up of the world, characters, and backstory. I found the text impenetrable, the pace frenetic, and the storyline uneven. The second-person perspective placed me at a distance from the text, and this was made doubly alienating by what an unpleasant character the protagonist is. This perspective also made it harder for me to engage with the unfamiliar concepts and language used in the book, as I felt like my brain was already exhausted from filtering the meaning through a perspective filter.
This changed when I got to the final third of the book. I'm not sure if it just took me that long to get into the rhythm of it, or if the pacing and action substantially changed, but all of the elements came together for me and propelled me towards the conclusion. Was the last third of the book satisfying enough to make up for how much I struggled with the beginning? On balance? Just.
Other themes/aspects that came up for me when I read it:
- ethics of conflict photojournalism
- war and power
- mortality/the afterlife
- homophobia (both homosexuality and homophobia are portrayed pretty negatively in the book and the author also appears to be straight. For me this makes it a homophobic commentary on homophobia?)
- female characters (they are... Not well written)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
The chaotic structure of the writing draws you in to the chaos of the forces driving the civil war. The chaos continues after death without missing a beat.
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War
Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Suicide, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief
Minor: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War