Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

4 reviews

ireadinbed's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I thought halfway through I wouldn't know what to rate this book. 

I had a lot of mixed feelings about things. I didn't sign up for the kind of tragedy I got. And I was angry to be reading it.

I'm glad I continued on. The book thoroughly redeemed itself. 

I don't get every element of this book. It feels very aimed at Jewish folks culturally. But I  felt connected. To every one of the siblings on some level. It's very personal to read and yet very specific to the characters. 

It is a book I would consider rereading and that's high praise from me nowadays. First five star in a long while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

Simon, Klara, Daniel und Varya - 
das Leben der vier Geschwister wird in diesem Buch nacheinander dargestellt. Alles beginnt mit dem Tag, an dem sie ihren Todestag erfahren. Eine einschneidende Erfahrung für die Kinder damals, die sie ihr ganzes Leben begleitet. Es werden glaubhaft dynamische Familienbande gezeigt, der Einfluss von Religion und Spiritualität auf das Leben wird behandelt und Sexualität und mentale Gesundheit wird angesprochen. Dir zentrale Diskussion jedoch, die ebenfalls gen Ende sehr elegant direkt in den Text eingewoben wird, ist, Leben vs. Überleben. Wie verhält man sich im Angesicht seines eigenen Ablebens? Geht man lieber auf Nummer sicher und versucht die Zukunft doch noch etwas zu beeinflussen oder nimmt man die Zeit, die man hat und macht das beste draus? Lieber im Jetzt leben oder im Potential der Zukunft? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

jarnbooks's review

emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book. Not initially, I hated  the first 100 pages because of the EXPLICIT descriptions of sex but I enjoyed the character. The story of the Gold siblings makes you think about if you want to live or survive and how much time we really have to do it. Each sibling has their own story to tell that each give a different lesson in a different time period that makes them feel real. There were some character decisions that I thought were a little quick but it adds to the story in the moment. There is a character for everyone to have some relation to. Each character is so strong in their passions and it’s genuinely interesting to see how each of the siblings go about their lives and the time they have left. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Death, Child death, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic relationship, War, Racism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Stalking, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, Homophobia, Car accident, Cancer, Bullying, Antisemitism, Abortion, Abandonment, and Gun violence

Most of these are in Simon and Klara’s parts which you can pretty much skip as the important parts are mentioned in the other parts.

kutreen's review

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

This book, though not always engaging, makes up for it by delving into a variety of inner conflicts people may have as a result of: descending from immigrants, the religion they grew up in, their relationship with their siblings and other relatives, their role in current social/political events, and their approach to love and life. I admired how Benjamin was able to tackle so many different issues, and in four wildly different characters on top of that. The natural problem that arises for the reader is that they will likely be more interested in one of these issues and one of the main characters than the others, so reading about the other issues and characters can get tiresome. However, I personally find the way Benjamin approached the perspectives (by giving each character their own section) more enjoyable to read than the most common approach which is to give each character alternating chapters. The way Benjamin did it, you get enough time to dive into the mind of each character, understand their problems and their philosophies, and reflect on your own in relation to theirs. It might be annoying, though, when you finally become close to a character and then their section ends and you don't get to revisit their mind again. Basically, it feels like Benjamin tried to do a little too much. Finally, I feel like I didn't really get the thing I was most looking for in this book based on the blurb: how would someone change their approach to life, knowing their death date? I felt like no character took their death date seriously, except in their final moments, except for one.

Why in the world does the youngest sibling die first, the next youngest sibling die second, etc.? Isn't that way too much of a coincidence?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Genocide, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Vomit