Reviews tagging 'Child death'

In Flammen by Megha Majumdar

10 reviews

ka_cam's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.5

It took me a couple days to get into this book but once I got sucked in I read most of it in one day. Tense is one word, the depiction of corruption and betrayal was visceral at times. Sometimes the one-time interludes really added to the narrative and other times distracted from our primary characters. This book involves graphic depictions of religiously motivated violence and murder, as well as state sanctioned violence- definitely check the content warnings.
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yesmarz730's review against another edition

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

3.75

It takes a minute to get started and towards the middle kind of looses momentum but when it picks up again it had me on my toes. The story of Jivan and PT Sir is so intense, and heart barking. This is the first book that I have read that literally had me in tears. 
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katielouisef's review against another edition

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

0.5

Jivan is arrested for a crime she didn’t commit but everyone believes she did it. From Kolkata to the slums of Kolabagan, the future seems to be cut short by political corruption and anti-Muslim hate.

I honestly am lost for words with this book.

A truly disappointing read. In less than 20 pages, we have a meagre introduction, an acting class, a terrorist attack, an arrest, a judge appearance, another character talking about a relationship and a sentencing.

Despite covering an important theme about the treatment of Muslims in India it merely glosses over that treatment. When writing about such topics in a fictional setting it really needs to be done well or just not at all in my opinion.

<Spoiler>  - the death of two characters were covered in less than a page.’ <Spoiler> 

Jivan, despite being a victim of a corrupted government has very few redeemable qualities and is her ignorance shines when she doesn’t want to hear about the other inmates stories. Needless to say she would’ve learned a few things had she listened.

It’s such a shame about the poor plot and execution of the book especially given as it’s such an important topic to talk about. I will however try and find some more on similar topics to read instead.
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tomato_bisque's review against another edition

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

3.5

"When the crowd disperses, they fill buses where they hang from open doorways, and return to homes where the pride of the year is a new refrigerator. They will bend in the fields, earning two rupees for crops that will sell in the city for forty,  and stand by roadsides hawking stacks of dinnerware which will chip at first wash. They will watch, wide-eyed, the one movie that plays in the theater on their half day off carpentry or construction or cleaning bathrooms, while PT Sir, in the government office's special elecator, moves upward."
 
I felt the book was hard to get into, it wasn't until the last 2/3rds of the book I was able to fully immerse myself. The short chapers and shifting perspectives made if difficult to latch on to the story. However, the last few chapters are definately the strongest in the entire book. The overall message is beautifully weaved together
into a tragic ending. As Lovely said, there can only be one of them that climb the ranks to the top of society. The system doesn't allow comfort and equality for everyone, some of them must be stomped down. Jivan serves as a scapegoat to wider society. Her case becomes less about her own guilt and more about the projections of political leaders, the community at large, and the ones closest to her. It was also very interesting to see Lovely and PT Sir struggle with the morality of what they were doing, but in the end choosing to do things for their own benefit.
Readers will be able to reflect on the ending and what goes on in their own countries. This is not just a novel about contemporary India, its about a system we all live under. 
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becksusername's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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catherineelkhattabystrauch's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

4.75

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sarah984's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative 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

This was a tough read (and I can't really say I "enjoyed" it in the traditional sense) but it was timely and well-written. Each character’s perspective feels unique and alive, and their actions are believable even when they're terrible. I felt like the demonstration of a person being seduced into doing increasingly awful things on behalf of a right-wing political party was realistic. 
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claudia_bow's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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ohheyitssean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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catgenevieve's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book surprised me and I felt that it ended too quickly. Though the characters aren’t exactly likeable, I wanted to know what would happen to them next.
Though the book is centered around the end of one person’s life, the life of the other characters seems to be just beginning.
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