Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

8 reviews

h3ykatrina's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Car accident, and Alcoholism

midwifekt's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

You can't keep great white sharks in captivity*. That was silly, and easy to find with minor research, and how am I supposed to take anything else seriously? 

In non-shark problems, I realize this was published a million years ago (1997), but yikes. Cannot say I recommend in this year of two thousand and twenty three. 

*Monterey Bay Aquarium had a research program in the mid-2000s, and the longest they could keep one was for 198 days. I was privileged enough to see one while it was there, but you just can't keep them alive in captivity. They get aggressive, and don't eat, and die. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide

inkell's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol

Moderate: Genocide, Fatphobia, and Suicide

Minor: Biphobia

emmajh91's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use

oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

I truly enjoyed this one! I don't know why I was expecting the story to be based more in Norway- BUT I was pleasantly surprised that the book was based in Australia. What really made this book 5-stars for me, was all the details and nuance about the Aboriginal characters. Nordic reads can definitely fall flat by lacking diverse characters (for example, having very similar characters skew either good or bad could turn a story into a pile of sameness after 300 pages, depending on what you're into of course). By adding the views of more than one Aboriginal person, as well as having them represent different tribes and having different upbringings/lifestyles, I was able to really get a feel for them as people and so (without naming names) I was actually shocked/saddened when the plot twists occurred.

There were also other characters that Nesbø gave life to that might've been abbreviated or omitted completely by another author. For this I appreciate him and think if you appreciate character-driven crime reads, then his books are for you! There's also plenty plot to go around! Excited to start book 2 for #nordicnovember

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcoholism

Moderate: Trafficking and Death

Minor: Suicide and Colonisation

blackmetalblackheart's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was extremely disappointed in this book. It has been on my to-read pile for awhile, and I finally got around to it because of a buddy read. The Bat suffers a bit from translation. It has that wooden feeling to it when things feel like a direct translation instead of something that becomes fluid and living in both languages. Or the original writing could just be wooden too. I do not really know. But that is the least of the issues when it comes to this novel. I cannot get past the fetishism of indigenous culture, the racism, the misogyny, the women experiencing tragedy mostly as a way to further the male lead, the inklings of homophobia peaking throughout the pages, the treatment and portrayal of sex workers and their industry, the macho maleness that is celebrated, the police's disregard for anything but solving the case, the unbelievable actions that several characters take, and the overall logic of the whole fucking thing. I know this was written in 1997, but I do not have time for this bullshit. Ugh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Murder, Rape, Addiction, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Police brutality, Suicide, and Kidnapping

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

laurenleigh's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Drug abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit