Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

16 reviews

m0rdred_the_fallen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

Primer libro que leo de Neil Gaiman, definitivamente voy a buscar su bibliografía porque este libro fue un favorito casi instantaneo.

Digo casi instantaneo porque cuando me di cuenta que el libro no iba a ser estratagemas, reuniones tácticas, ataques y contrataques (como pensé por la reseña en la contraportada) tuve la tentación de poner en pausa mi lectura y buscar otro libro. Pero, poco a poco, me fui adentrando más y más en la historia tanto por Sombra como por las trastadas de Wednesday.

Lo que más me gustó fue lo diverso de los seres míticos y deidades que aparecen en el libro, realmente es un catálogo diverso de personajes que me tuvo pensando en que deidad podía ser tal o cual personaje; mis favoritos fueron: 

• Anansi > el Sr. Nancy
• Thot > el Sr. Ibis
• Anubis > el Sr. Jacquel
• Bastet > la gata de Ibis y Jacquel
• Loki, el preso Low Key Lyesmith

También me impulsó a reflexionar en los apartes del Sr. Ibis, el monólogo de Sam Cuervo Negro sobre aquello que una persona puede creer con todas sus peculiaridades, adendos y lógica particular.

Hubo, aún así, dos historia que me impactaron:

1. La historia de los dos hermanos vendidos como esclavos, ¿cómo sería nuestro mundo si los imperios esclavistas hubiésen colapsado mucho antes de lo que hicieron? ¿Y si no hubieran existido? No solo la falta de arrocidades, dolor y sufrimiento, pero la mezcla de razas, la mutilación social y cultural que muchos pueblos sufrieron ¿Cómo serían las culturas y nuestro mundo moderno? ¿Cómo hubiera sido el intercambio cultural entre países sin estos imperios?
2. Los niños asesinados en Lakeside, la monstrousidad que los humanos creamos en esos dioses tribales y los pobres niños que pagaron con su vida la sed de sangre de Hinzelman.
   Muy Omelas si me lo preguntan.

En cuanto a Wednesday, al principio fue como Ugh, maldito arrogante suertudo pero luego que le roba a la cajera, a los negocios y sobretodo como trata a Pascua y a la mesera del café me quise meter al libro para golpearlo y decirle que me importa un comino su berrinchito porque ya no le matan gente o animales en su nombre. Es peor, mucho peor, que la mesera a la que trata como basura.

Por último, el final del libro fue tan sorprendente como el desprecio que le agarré a Wednesday, que es mucho. Puedo decir con certeza que me alegro

de que Sombra les haya echado por tierra todo su teatrito y su guerra fabricada. Mira que tener un niño con una completa extraña solo para manipularlo de esa forma, solo Zeus es así del mal padre.

Y estoy seguro que, sinportar lo que Wednesday o Loki digan

el robo salió mal y encarcelaron a Sombra por favorecer su maldito plan. De esa forma, podían aprovechar para que Sombra estuviera vulnerable no solo por la ruptura de su relación como por la muerte de Laura. Además, seguramente, la mataron por puro gusto, no porque sirviera de algo; otro bendito "castigo" a la humanidad por no hacer como Wednesday quiera.

Como si alguno de los dos mereciera otra cosa que el olvido.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Suicide, Body horror, Child death, Kidnapping, Blood, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Car accident, and Cancer

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Abandonment, and Child abuse

trying_ceratops's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.5

I ended up liking this book by the end but the docked stars are for the pace of the book and the fact I’ve tried to read this 3-4 times before unsuccessfully and finally pushed through this time. The mythology is neat, there’s definitely some misogyny, and the character development is the main character is well done but takes forever. The middle felt like a nothing happened.  All that said, that should show how good the rest of the story is to get it up to 3.5. I know people who love this book and would argue its merits until they’re blue in the face, but I probably won’t re-read it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, and War

Moderate: Police brutality, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Cursing, Gore, Grief, and Torture

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

ded_c's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Death, Alcohol, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

lancemama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Cannibalism, War, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Body horror, and Bullying

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Cultural appropriation, Pregnancy, Suicide, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Racism, and War

ourlittlelibaryt's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Es war ein unglaublich schwer zu lesendes Buch. Obwohl mich die Geschichte interesiert hat musste ich mich häufig durch die Seiten zwingen. Die Themen und Story sind sehr interessant können es aber nicht alleine aufrecht halten. Am besten fand ich die Kurzgeschichten von Wututu und Agasu, Essie und Salim und des Dschinn.  Noch anzumerken ist das viele gerede über Titten, Klöten und stahlharte Erektionen. Aight I guess

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, Slavery, and Death

Moderate: War, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, Child death, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol, Torture, Body horror, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

anj144's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

This book, while incredibly slow paced, is one of those books you read that just stays with you forever. The writing just blows me away. I’m a big Neil Gaiman fan but this one has to be my favorite read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Violence

Minor: Toxic relationship and Sexual violence

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

I enjoy Gaiman's stories most of the time, but misogyny slips out here and there when he's trying to be gritty. Ruins my enjoyment. I catch myself wishing a woman had written them instead.

I also find the "troubles" bit in the middle difficult to understand--doesn't seem to further Odin's/Loki's purposes that are central to the story. No real reason to kill some of the gods who were killed. If there had been some established enmity between them and Odin or Loki, sure, but I didn't see anything. 

Encapsulating both these complaints: Balquis' character seems to exist completely for proposes that don't further the narrative: adding a sex(ist) scene and dying during the "troubles" part. I could be convinced there's narrative value there, but I'm not seeing it at the moment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Death of parent, Slavery, Infidelity, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Sexual content, Sexism, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Abandonment, War, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Vomit, Car accident, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Rape

raavi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Death

bel017's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Blood, War, and Adult/minor relationship

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