Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

17 reviews

carlytenille's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This was my first complete read through of this book, having DNFed a couple of times previously for reasons unrelated to the book itself. I'm very glad I managed to finish it, though. I think the furthest I had got previously was around 3/4s of the way through. I had no idea just how much detail there could be in the 25% at the end of a book. This book covers the time period from 1910 to 1967, with a significant portion being 1939-1945, both in London and various parts of Germany, which does mean there are a lot of incredibly visceral descriptions of bombs falling and the clean up operations in the immediate aftermath. I don't personally have the knowledge to be able to rate the historical accuracy, but I did find this gave me an even deeper appreciation for those clean up crews, firemen, ambulance crews, etc. than I already had, as well as the civilian costs in Germany. I do wonder if the descriptions were perhaps toned down slightly, despite how brutal they still are. This was incredibly thought provoking overall, with a little fantasy aspect that allowed for a much more wide ranging exploration of this time period than would be possible without that fantasy aspect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

The time loop of Life after Life is the life of Ursula Todd. She initially dies

choking upon birth

in 1910, but then she wakes up again immediately. As she grows older in the shadow of the First World War, she is forced to watch the world grow cold as the Second World War looms on the horizon. As she gains knowledge of the time loop, she begins to try and alter history to save her family from the horrors of war.

This book was a visceral experience. Ursula's life reflects the sorry state of women in the early 20th century, including mistreatment by men and powerlessness in the face of devastating war and violence. Each death comes as a surprise, and the twist of why she is in the time loop leads to a powerful ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Vomit, and Trafficking

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, and Car accident

jolineliest's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual content, Excrement, Antisemitism, and Deportation

elliott_the_clementine's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An extremely odd book. Undoubtedly intriguing and very well-written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

courtneyreadsometimes's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

ashbreadin's review

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

That book was a mind f***! Honestly it started off pretty good and I was excited for the story. But by the end (or even the late middle), it felt like it didn't really know how it should end, so it just kind of took the cowards way out by

not giving us an actual ending.

. Lots of content warnings, and it just felt like the author wanted to hit every bad thing that could happen in life. Worst use of the "groundhog's day" type of phenomenon I've ever seen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Genocide, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

shibaunited's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

julianship's review

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

4.5 stars. This book took me two months to read, through no fault of its own- every time I picked it up I fell into Atkinson's deft prose and neatly nested storytelling. Because the book is so dense with detail, all of which matters because of Ursula's branching, subtly different lives, it is hard to get back into when you put it down, and thus here I am in November finishing a book I began around Labor Day.
I say this as a compliment, but this book feels like playing a particularly difficult video game with no save points. Ursula successfully navigates all the mundane ways to die that surround her early years, only to be murdered by a husband, or hit by a car, or crushed by a wall in the Blitz, and then we're back to the start again. I found myself clutching the book and mentally hissing at Ursula as though I were in a horror movie. 
Luckily, the Fox Corner periods of the book are full of a particularly English drawing room sniping I do enjoy reading, mixed with lush descriptions of countryside and food, and also after the first three or four Atkinson doesn't linger too much.
The character portraits are a real strength; nearly everyone we meet is terribly human, full of flaws and foibles, and they scrape up against each other excellently. No one in this book is uncomplicatedly good, although many people do good things, which is refreshing to read in a novel that spends a large amount of its second half in the Blitz.
My only qualm is that Atkinson's style uses comma splices constantly as an apparent stylistic choice, which I should not care about but unfortunately I can't turn the proofreading part of my brain off even though it hasn't been my job for a year and a half now. 
This was a rec from a friend, and I'm excited to see that Atkinson has a new book out, because I liked this one so much I'd like to read more of hers! Would highly recommend for anyone who likes intricate/nested stories, stories about stories, unreliable narrators, and messy British families. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kadtide's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism