Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

93 reviews

wifeslife's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Child abuse, Sexism, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, War, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Infertility, Grief, Domestic abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Police brutality

stephmcoakley's review

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gore, War, Violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Rape, Abandonment, Abortion, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, and Infidelity

salma_175's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

The most emotional book I’ve read yet, cried multiple times, loved it entirely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion and Suicide

lauramcc7's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, and War

izzaasda's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Misogyny, and Death of parent

beeblebrox299's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion

2j4d3's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Death, War, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Abortion, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Miscarriage, Blood, Self harm, Abortion, and Pregnancy

dejnozkova's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I feel that this book was beautifully balanced, just as The Kite Runner was. But unlike The Kite Runner, this novel presents the stories of women; their struggles, their dreams, their disappointments, their bravery and tenderness, and their relationships with each other. His characters’ histories and personalities are intimately fleshed out in a way that makes them believable, intriguing, and emotionally impactful. It was a treat to watch them evolve over the course of Afghan history (from the 70’s through the 00’s), how they react to historical events and politics and how this shapes their inner domestic lives. 

The novel is also as informative as it is heart wrenching, especially if you aren’t already familiar with the politics and recent history of the region. Hosseini artfully navigates issues of politics, authoritarianism, the oppression of women, and suppression of civil liberties without being heavy handed or lazy. These issues are organically taught through the experiences of the characters so that they are memorable and personal. 

The novel is closed by offering a glimmer of sunshine to balance the darkness, which I personally love. I think that when authors write stories drenched in tragedy and outrage it’s important to also remark on the resiliency of the human spirit and our capacity to create and find beauty despite everything. I think Khaled Hosseini is one of those authors that actually acknowledges the flowers that can bloom after all the suffering. So for those of you tired of pessimistic endings I recommend this book as I feel it was down-to-earth and still hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abortion, Rape, Vomit, Alcohol, Confinement, Excrement, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

lorie266's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Ableism, Abortion, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Infertility, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

clarissa_joy's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

 This book broke my heart. It may be a fictional story, but I know that Mariam and Laila's reality is one experienced by so many women in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. Early in the book, Mariam's mother tells her, "It's our lot in life, Mariam. Women like us. We endure. It's all we have." And endure she does, as does Laila. My heart ached for both women as they faced familial dysfunction and loss, martial abuse, and absolute devastation in their home and country. Yet in the midst of that, they found the capacity to love and hope and ultimately fight back.
This book tackles many heavy topics with nuance and leaves the reader conflicted as to the resolution of them.
Hosseini uses Mariam and Laila to showcase the backdrop of the tumultuous events that took place in Afghanistan between 1975 and 2003. I was aware while reading that thousands of people experienced these same hardships and pain and it was deeply moving.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Rape, and Abortion