Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar

12 reviews

tlaynejones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Sexism, Mental illness, Grief, Misogyny, and Death

dafni's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

This book reminds us the strength people gain through storytelling, fantasy, cultural heritage and imagination under political regimes of oppression and violence. We witness the life experience of Islamic Revolution in Iran through the eyes of Bahar’s family. My heart is heavy; feelings of sadness, anger and powerlessness. A great example of magic realism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.75

 The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree is a unique look at the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. It was a special read, but also a challenging read - at least for me. The story follows a fairly ordinary family of five and is narrated by the ghost of 13 year old Bahar who dies when revolutionaries set fire to her family home in Tehran. The remaining family members then move to the isolated small village of Rezan in an effort to avoid the worst of the revolutionary excesses, but eventually the revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war make their way to the village. There is obviously plenty of dark and hard subject matter in this book but there is also a lot of beauty including a love of literature and the arts which the family nurtures and is nurtured by, the love between family members and the wider Razan community, Azar’s gorgeous prose, and the rich Persian and Arabic folklore and mythology which is intricately woven into the novel. This folklore lends a strong element of fantasy, some would say magical realism, to the novel, giving it an ethereal quality which I struggled with a little. That’s totally down to me as a reader. But I also loved this element of the book. It added real richness and depth to the story. Highlighting the cultural beauty which was lost exacerbated the impact of the oppression and brutality. Unique and impactful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Child death, and Death

emilymdxn's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Violence, and Death

ashza12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Violence, and Child death

leahkrason's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

kateofmind's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Full review now at <a href="http://kateofmind.blogspot.com/2021/07/shokoofeh-azars-enlightenment-of.html">Kate of Mind</a>. TL;DR version: NOT TO BE MISSED. Best read along with The Book of Collateral Damage for maximum Persian gutpunch.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Violence

The narrator of this book -- and this us on the jacket copy so don't yell at me about spoilers -- is a murdered 13 year old girl, and that is not quite the worst thing that happens in this book. It's brutal AF. It's about a family who thought they'd survived the Revolution in Iran in 1979 but really kind of thought wrong. But it's also the most beautiful thing you're likely to read this year.

jmbz38's review

challenging hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

sherbertwells's review

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted 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

3.0

An intellectual Iranian family leaves the chaos of revolutionary Tehran for a remote village that plays host to jinns, curses and otherworldly nature. Azar borrows heavily from Gabriel García Márquez One Hundred Years of Solitude, and while she does not surpass her mentor fans of one will certainly find the other enjoyable and inspiring.

“Here and there a passerby who had missed the last buses looked up at the star-filled sky and wondered where the deluge was coming from. It was only the homeless addicts and vagabond lunatics whose inner eyes saw that a river of tears up Vali-asr Street flowed ahead of five thousand despairing, crying ghosts marching like a vanquished army, occasionally leaning against old plane trees and keening in a funereal lament” (76)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

jessamynb's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Death of parent, Death, and Confinement