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clemounette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Police brutality
Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
justabridge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I also found the story quite confused - did it want to be Daniel’s story? Or did it want to be Julian Carax’s? The book was trying to be both separately instead of blending the two, and so you ended up with huge chunks of exposition (sometimes 30-50 pages (ish) at a time), and it didn’t really feel like the characters had to work for the mystery or the payoff.
What really made this hard to enjoy for me though, was the relentless violence and constant oversexualisation of women. It was all the time, in pretty much every chapter, and felt so unnecessary. I think the only woman whose breasts and general sexual allure weren’t discussed in detail was Daniel’s mother, and she was dead prior to the book starting. And the casual beatings, the sexism, the slut-shaming, and other much heavier violence sprinkled throughout...it really didn’t feel like the female characters in this were allowed to be people, and it completely alienated and exhausted me while I was reading. Perhaps to some extent the attitudes were ‘historically accurate’, but I think that parameter was hit and bulldozed through very early on.
It is a shame, because the writing style in this was beautiful, the descriptions of Barcelona were so evocative, and I loved the setting of the Cemetery or Forgotten books. These things we just overshadowed by everything else.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Homophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
kelseak96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Minor: Torture
andreeanz's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Blood and Death
megarowsey's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Child death
alyse's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Bullying, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, and Child death
gwynsvan's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Sexual content
Minor: Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, and Torture
juph's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Incest, Homophobia, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Bullying
sailanie's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death
laurenleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Murder, and Child abuse
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Death of parent