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leinie's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Death, and Grief
jnorwood's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Child death, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
emolr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Genocide, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Classism, Death of parent, War, Dementia, and Domestic abuse
kwahl's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Dementia, War, Domestic abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
leahkarge's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Bullying, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Self harm, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Gaslighting, Genocide, Rape, Toxic relationship, War, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
kimveach's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Dementia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Addiction, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Sexism
madelynmonet's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Misogyny, Drug use, Hate crime, Grief, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Abortion, War, and Violence
Minor: Eating disorder
now_booking's review
- 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
4.5
Like many of Allende’s protagonists, Violeta is born into some privilege. This book spans Violeta’s life from her birth during the emergence of the 1920 flu pandemic, the stock market crash and the Great Depression, through the rise of Naziism, fascism, peasant uprisings, revolution and the legacy of colonialism, Western political influence and dictatorship in Latin America, to the end of her life in 2020’s coronavirus pandemic. While this work of historical fiction is not specifically about these historical events, the dramatic events of her life and her dysfunctional family are greatly influenced by these events and through her story, we get a fresh perspective of what it may have been to love through those times.
This is ultimately a book of an entire life, so there is a lot of sadness and trauma in this that linger especially when one looks back at a lifetime and has experienced the pain of regret and loss. This isn’t a maudlin read, Violeta has a good sense of self irony and is witty and humorous, and is viciously honest even with herself about her own failings, yet the overarching mood of this is sort of sad and reflective. This book addresses themes of neglect and abuse, infidelity, sexual assault, addiction, violence and genocide. If you’ve had experience living under an authoritarian regime and experienced loss through it, this might be somewhat triggering. If you haven’t, this has a lot of loss in it, so gird your loins.
That said, this book is absolutely gorgeous. The writing is fantastic… it reads authentically like an old lady wrote it as her memoir and there are so many points reading this that I stopped to reflect. There were so many points of reflection about relationships, faith, regret, wealth. The story of love and family and found family that is built through this book is so real yet so flawed and because of that compellingly human. The character development is as expected from and Allende novel, great, and even the description of the most mundane aspects of her life was compelling. This would have been a perfect 5 stars for me if not that I think it was at times a bit repetitive in parts and I think in places the story could have moved faster. I think fans of the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will adore this, but I found this to be more encompassing, more meaningful and just… more! I highly highly recommend this!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Cancer, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexism, Classism, Death, Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Bullying, Drug use, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Infertility, Torture, War, Ableism, Confinement, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Eating disorder, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Abortion, Chronic illness, and Colonisation
xmaiixx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, War, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Infidelity, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, and Addiction
Minor: Cancer
dreamyy_reader's review
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, Cancer, and Misogyny