Reviews tagging 'Rape'

The Return of Faraz Ali by Aamina Ahmad

11 reviews

veka's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.75

I loved this book. The author’s descriptions of Lahore and the Mohalla were so beautifully written, I could imagine it myself. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

brianreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, War, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Abortion, Colonisation, and Adult/minor relationship

laurajeangrace's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Child death, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

Moderate: Vomit and Xenophobia

Minor: Gun violence

patchworkculture's review

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Well, this book was heartbreaking. And also so much better than I expected. I grabbed this as my read for Pakistan in the Storygraph’s Read the World challenge. When I skimmed the synopsis, I thought this would be a detective mystery uncovering the death of a young girl. It is that to a certain extent, although not in the typical format. It covers so much more than that, though, exploring themes of politics, war, family, and motherhood. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, Rape, and Sexual violence

izarah's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Rape

uranaishi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual violence, Child death, Classism, Death, Police brutality, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Violence, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, War, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexism, and Trafficking

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting

sara_c23's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

Minor: War, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

akal's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, War, and Rape

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

booksandprosecco's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

The Return of Faraz Ali melds crime, politics and family life, a historical fiction novel set mostly in the walled red light district of Lahore. I found the chapters/storylines that focused on Faraz’s family, his sister & mother’s storylines, much more compelling than the political plot lines. The chapters with Faraz’s father during the 40s almost didn’t feel like they were part of the same book, and I found my attention drifting during those parts. 

Pacing issues aside, I’ll be interested to see what Ahmad writes next as her prose is beautiful, despite the gritty subject matter. Exploring prostitution and corruption, this book is a tough read at times, harrowing and often melancholic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Death of parent