Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Candide by Voltaire

19 reviews

szel_zsofi's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

3.5

it was sometimes funny, but also racist and anti-semitic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Racism, War, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

katariinatoivanen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Murder, Slavery, and Colonisation

Minor: Suicide, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

mt_everett's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Torture

buildingtaste's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

3.5

Amazing how I get so fed up with modern authors for going too fast through plot developments or not reasonably establishing the world, meanwhile Voltaire can be like "and then they went to South America for a bit" and I'll say "wow ok Francois where are you going with this one?" and the answer is "never mind that; we need to tend our garden."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Colonisation, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Antisemitism, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Islamophobia

Not sure I covered all the things that go down in this book, pretty much every chapter has some absolutely abysmal content.

kaitlin2749's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was intellectually stimulating. Voltaire engages the reader through a story in which he is able to weave philosophical beliefs about optimism. The novel is dark and cynical at times, but the conclusion brings all the events together to make a point that life is not perfect, we all have our own struggles that happen for a reason. These struggles will shape us, but we need not become obsessed with them. Rather, we just need to “cultivate our own garden.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Rape, Death, Violence, Torture, Classism, and Colonisation

mary_juleyre's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

jana16's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

erica_palmisano's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I read this first in college and decided to reread because (a) I was 1 book shy of my goal for 2021 and (b) it was on my shelf, and (c) I liked it the last time I read it. There was more racism than I remembered (typical white lady me), and lots of fast-moving violence, but so much of the writing still made me chuckle and marvel a few times. And "tending one's garden" has more allure than when I was 20. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

kscheffrahn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, and Torture