Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

8 reviews

kiragreads's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Death

strangeeigenfunction's review against another edition

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

What I didn't like: 
There were some storytelling choices that I found a bit awkward (a major one is the choice to have much of the book in first person, and third person bits that are kind of strange for that narrator to know about), and there's a rather disturbing sequence in the first quarter/third of the book (see my content warning notes). Also, there's an instance of rape that I'm not sure the author recognized as such, or if he may have subtextually intended it as a more complicated situation with regard to consent (something along the lines of the victim going along with it despite not particularly wanting to). Honestly, most of the women could be treated better by the narrative, although it doesn't deny their competence...

However, overall it is another (I read the more recent Covenant of Water first) epic meditation on life and loss and forgiveness, colored with medical details...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide, Body horror, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Sexual content, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Gore, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Excrement, Colonisation, Murder, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Vomit, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Dementia, and Drug use

I can usually cope with graphic medical descriptions but I was shaken by the drawn out scene, interposed with other events, where a doctor begins attempting to cut up what he believes to be a stillbirth to aid in delivery but the reader already knows is a living baby. There's also a plot point involving female genital mutilation/"circumcision".

ashleysweitz's review

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Medical content

Minor: War and Rape

debluedke's review

challenging emotional tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Medical trauma, and Blood

teneke's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Cancer

Minor: Colonisation, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Child death, and Police brutality

martha_imani's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I would have given this 5 stars except that the main character

rapes another character, with no recognition or acknowledgement of what he has done

. The book contains many graphic scenes of surgery, disease, and injury. Content warning: female genital mutilation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, War, Medical trauma, Blood, Suicide, Sexual assault, Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent

shea_proulx's review

challenging emotional informative 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Grief and Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol, Terminal illness, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cancer, Addiction, Animal cruelty, War, and Sexual assault

kyrap's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Dementia, Gun violence, and Murder