Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Atonement by Ian McEwan

25 reviews

torigottlieb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Child death, War, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

laudee's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I had to read this book for school and did not finish it at first because it is just not my favourite genre. Now, preparing for my finals, I listened to the audiobook and have to appreciate the different narrative perspectives and the interesting approach to atonement. However, I could not get myself to really care for any of the characters and the general theme and pace of the book is just not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Child death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

mezzoanddolce's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Three stars, the extra half star is for Robbie & Cecilia.

Gosh, I'm a mess. This book is so good. It honestly took me a while to get into it. The beginning is long and my dislike of Briony didn't help contribute to my liking it, but i cant help but think that this book is a masterpiece in some ways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Medical content, and War

Moderate: Dementia and Death

arifairy's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Blood

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

milele23's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Violence, and War

Minor: Blood and Toxic relationship

It is a moderately good book for the study of English Literature, despite the bad language. It contains a lot of high level vocabulary and the narrative shifts often. It can be a bit long winded at times, but stick with it, see it through and decide the verdict for yourself.

sadiaa's review against another edition

emotional

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Classism, Terminal illness, War, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Death, Gaslighting, and Dementia

hunkydory's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Cursing and Dementia

booksbyadesi's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Rape, Confinement, Genocide, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

lostinthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the best character study books I have ever read. The characters all do things on the scale from questionable to awful but they are so well developed that you understand their multi-layered motivations. 

The atmosphere is also incredibly immersive whether in a sleepy summer country house, a busy hospital or the banks of Dunkirk. Each setting is powerfully evoked in, at times, uncomfortable ways and this combined with the characterisation, really put you in the perspective of the characters. 

Finally, the writing was just so perfectly crafted and changed throughout the book to mirror the characters and their perspectives. Descriptive sections were used sparingly but effectively and it was overall a joy to read.

A worthy classic and my first 5 star book of the year!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault

beloved_bridget's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I have to stop reading reviews, they made me very scared to read this book. A friend recommended this book to me, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. the first half was a bit weird, I am really not a fan of how the romance between robbie and cecilia was presented. I felt that I wasn't supposed to root for them, and felt very disoriented with the major jump-cut to WWII and we're just supposed to believe that their romance is perfect. even before that, I just didn't really feel that cecilia's feelings for robbie made sense. 
I was really surprised that the second half of the book was dedicated to the war, felt like I was reading a completely different book. it was still a good book, but felt that the second half was very disconnected from the first.
overall, the language can sometimes feel a little much at times, like he's writing just for the sake of writing. but I really liked it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Gore, and Death