Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

23 reviews

thefooddater's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

A beautifully written story that I could not put down. Its a tale about sisterhood, especially in the face of extreme female oppression. The story also weaves in a bit of Afghan history. I've known about the Taliban through only news reports, but reading about how the rich culture and history has been destroyed by religious extremists and years of colonialism was eye opening.
Despite the dark topics, the ending is hopeful and shows the resilience of Afghans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Police brutality, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Death of parent, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, and War

The book takes place between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the early 2000's liberation of the country of the Taliban. There are also graphic scenes/depictions of sexual assault.

reads2cope's review

4.5

Resilient is a word I'm tired of being demanded of those struggling to survive in the "East," but it is the most fitting to describe these characters. It was heartbreaking and infuriating to see each woman hope that after these bombs, peace will finally come, knowing the horrors that befell Afghanistan next. 

The middle of this novel almost had me giving up. Every violence that the Soviet Union, the civil war, the USA was made so real and clear, and then to have such beautiful, complex, wounded women abused by their husband made me want to stop reading. I'm so glad I didn't, the end of this book was everything I'd hoped for, though it still destroyed me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, War, Colonisation, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Miscarriage, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Classism, Infertility, Rape, Misogyny, Blood, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abortion and Stalking

gabriella_'s review

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? It's complicated

4.75

i had to leave the room i was in to cry while reading this. idk if this is controversial but in some ways i preferred this over the kite runner. i think there are problematic elements in the book but it still has a captivating prose and poetic flow that is easy to get lost in

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Confinement, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, War, Abandonment, Child death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Vomit, and Cursing

berrymuffin's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, Body horror, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, War, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexism, and Racism

amwill35's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Classism, Adult/minor relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape and Abortion

alinatariq's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Shattered my heart in the most emotional way over and over again 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Infertility, Torture, Sexual harassment, Genocide, Violence, Cancer, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Racism, Blood, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

rene_reads02's review

challenging emotional informative reflective tense fast-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? No

5.0

This was one of the best books I read in a while. It shows the horrors of war and what challenges women faced during that time. This book opened my eyes to a lot of the struggles people were dealing with on a daily basis. Some of these happened before I was born & the rest when I was just a kid, but it’s a perspective that I didn’t realize I’d been waiting my whole life to hear. The characters were so inspiring! There were times when my heart wept for them and times when I cheered them on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Genocide, War, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Torture, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Body horror, Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Minor: Child death, Alcohol, Miscarriage, and Abortion

maajidah's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"one last time, Mariam did as she was told" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Gore, Miscarriage, Rape, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, War, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Torture

33cosmo's review

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Abortion, Body horror, Pregnancy, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, War, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Child death, Classism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders

imaginefishes's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just like The Kite Runner, this book hit me right where it hurts. Hosseini’s writing style was a welcome sight, and I deeply enjoyed reading about another facet of Afghan living and history in this book. While the gut-wrenching moments here were perhaps not as severe as in The Kite Runner (after all, that sort of betrayal is hard to beat), the domestic abuse and oppression of women delineated in its pages left me breathless and at times, fearful with anxiety. We follow the story of Mariam at the start, and I was confused initially as to why the perspective began to change from chapter to chapter (between Mariam and Laila), until the moment it clicked into place. This story is heartbreaking, once again touching on the idea of parental love (or rather, its lack thereof) but from a female lens instead, where powers continuously attempt to strip them of their agency and how these women act in different ways to manage it, one in subservient acceptance and one in defiant resistance. I was drawn in from the beginning, and my attention would drift to the book and its characters up to the moment I finished its story. Another brilliant, masterfully woven story by Hosseini about the tribulations of Afghanistan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexism, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, War, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Murder, Ableism, Classism, and Confinement

I was hoping that they would both be able to get the happy ending they deserved, but alas, in life, you don’t always get what you wish for. It is tragic, and yet, there is a poetic beauty to it.