Reviews tagging 'Violence'

In Flammen by Megha Majumdar

30 reviews

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This small book was a real gut-punch. The only thing that's keeping it from a full 5 stars is that the brevity plus multiple perspectives meant that some pieces of characterization were slightly underdone, but not by much! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence

casey_sunshine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Rape, Murder, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia and Medical content

sepitz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Islamophobia, Death, and Police brutality

Moderate: Rape, Medical trauma, and Transphobia

closelywatchedfilms's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence

laurenmcnamara's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Medical trauma

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

A Burning, set in Kolkata, India, is written from the perspective of three individuals struggling to find a better life in a society that looks down upon them. Through these POVs, the author explores themes like freedom, justice, and power. 

Although the plot moves quickly, I had trouble getting invested in the storyline, as I never really felt connected to any of the characters. I also found the numerous POVs distracting--beyond the three main POVs, the author would jump into a random POV every dozen chapters. I found this jarring, and did not feel that it added value to the storyline. Lastly, while I liked the ending, I thought it could have been executed better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Transphobia

Moderate: Islamophobia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Violence

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

5.0

 In the beginning moments of this novel, terrorists set fire to a train in modern India.  Jivan, a young woman, later posts about it on Facebook, equating police inaction to government terrorism.  In the middle of the night, she is arrested.  PT Sir was Jivan’s P.E. teacher before she dropped out of school after 10th grade.  Unappreciated and power-hungry, he eventually finds himself in the inner circle of the government’s opposition party nearing an election.  Lovely is a hijra, a transgender woman and a member of a community of trans and intersex people.  She’s a talented actress on the hunt for her breakout role, and she’s learning English from Jivan to become more marketable.  The three characters collide amid Jivan’s trial.

Wonderfully read by a full cast, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning is especially relevant in the age of highly-politicized social media and government extremism. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia and Violence

Minor: Blood, Death, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Medical trauma

catgenevieve's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Islamophobia, Excrement, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Transphobia, Rape, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Confinement

Minor: Fatphobia

laurenleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Rape, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

Minor: Suicide

breannamarie619's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Transphobia and Death