Reviews tagging 'Torture'

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

11 reviews

jewelrybonney's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Medical content, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Police brutality, Misogyny, Violence, Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism

bibliotecabecca's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Vomit, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

nwfalens's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

Beautiful storytelling, but very difficult reading with the violence. An important book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Child death, Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

emmanicoleman's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Racial slurs, Rape, and Hate crime

Minor: Homophobia, Trafficking, Vomit, War, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

isabeldotml's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Child death

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

jessies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual content, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Torture

mikayladlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.5

I started this book as an ebook but quickly switched to the audio, this is a book that I would recommend knowing the context of it before you pick it up. Since it is told from multiple perspectives, it can be confusing to follow the storyline, however I think that the author's writing was perfect for the story.
I think the readers for the audiobook did an amazing job in portraying their characters and it definitely made this book an easier read. 
I will admit, I got a little lost at times but could quickly piece together any missing parts as the story went on. I think getting to the flow of the story is more important than understanding every single word. There is definitely a lot of difficult content in this novel, but I think the author has done a brilliant job in portraying the messiness of life and the messiness of Jamaica during this time period. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Gun violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and War

panoptican's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Rape, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Trafficking, Misogyny, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Racial slurs, Sexism, Physical abuse, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Bullying, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

goofygoober27's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Addiction, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Rape

alisonburnis's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Marlon James is a masterful writer, and this is definitely on show in A Brief History of Seven Killings - I mean, it won the Booker. That said, I wasn’t as into this one as I would have liked. I appreciated the writing but the topic wasn’t one I would have gone for typically. So yay for James getting me to read about Bob Marley, Jamaica, and the crack wars, when I might not have picked this up otherwise. 

This takes place over a handful of days spread across 15 years. It begins with the attempted murder of Bob Marley, referred to as the Singer, in Jamaica, and follows the characters through the aftermath of the attempted murder, to the drug wars of the 1980s, and then into the 1990s. It is a fictionalization of the attempted murder, though some real figures feature. This is a rich, suspenseful story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Racial slurs, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Drug use, Rape, Torture, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny