Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown

48 reviews

daishaspencer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This is one of the most gut wrenching and horrific stories I’ve read. I found myself moved to tears many times placing myself as a young woman in the shoes of Sarah and her companions. The author wrote beautifully of the scenery in which the party found themselves, I could clearly see places I’ve never been (though I had to reference google maps a handful of times). This story is not without bias from the author, but no narrative non-fiction truly can be. This book has left me with a lasting impression of a story which I knew little about before. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Gore, Body horror, Animal death, Murder, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

taylordnelson's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Death

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death

alexcribbs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

Not for the faint of heart. I learned about the Donner Party in school but definitely not in such detail. The author does a good job of painting the picture not only in terms of setting, but also in terms of the physical sensations they were likely experiencing throughout. A tough but interesting read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Death

Moderate: Child death

cooknick's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

I expected not to like this book for two reasons: 1. I thought I knew anything important there is to know about the Donner party, and 2. I read a lot of crime and survival stories, but I draw the line at tales of cannibalism. However, this was my book club's selection, so I read it. And I'm glad I did. 
Brown did a masterful job of putting the reader into the time and culture of the Donner party, to such an extent that I was kept in suspense, rooting for all to survive, even though I know how the story ends.
History has much maligned the Donner party, often turning the story into a sick punchline, but Brown restored the group's humanity in a way that I found moving and inspiring. This is among the best survival novels I have read. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Death, and Cannibalism

weboury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

cccannFantastic book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Confinement, and Sexism

sarahbroccoli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.5

Check TWs this was a harrowing book. Loved the empathy and thoughtfulness that the author employed when discussing the Donner party and the central theme of hope and perseverance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

a_beautiful_soup's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, and Child death

rhi_reading's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Murder

amandamethot's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Animal death

ablot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

while the author sometimes derails into speculative sentimentality, there is so much heart to this book. it presents the story and implications of the story of the donner party in an accessible but stimulating way. something Brown tends to do successfully is contextualize the events he is recording, and he does a wonderful job here. i left the book wishing i knew more about sarah, and will likely do more research on the westward expansion just due to this incredible book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child death, and Death