Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

3 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

Wow. This book is amazing. A love story between two very different boys, tells the tale of political unrest and oppression coloring 1980s Poland. Told through second person letters, Ludwik tells the story of his upbringing, life in Communist Poland, and his complicated relationship with Janusz. The writing styles approaches dark subjects with an almost flowery language, making every bit a joy to read. Does it get a tad slow at times? Yeah. Does it absolutely ramp up towards the end? Yes! This is a short yet poignant tale of love and unrest is a worthwhile read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Homophobia, War, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Death of parent, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Violence

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I appreciated the setting because it focused on a time and place (Poland in the 1980s) that I am almost completely unfamiliar with and it was very interesting to be immersed in it, even if briefly.
I quite liked the narrator's voice and I think that the author was very good at handling Ludwik's emotional journey, the final chapters especially hit me right in the feels, harder than I thought they would.

However, there were some plot points that I found a little bit weird

for example, the drugged soup and the hallucinated stroll in the woods, okay I guess?!

.
Also, I think that at times the language was a tad overwritten and going a bit too heavy on metaphors and similes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Death of parent, Drug use, Outing, Classism, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Violence