Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

9 reviews

steller0707's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

bellbookcandle's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

Sold historical novel, amazing writing - every character has a different voice, and the novel works with an ensemble cast of characters. The story is just beginning at the end of this novel - scope is really sweeping.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence

wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Classism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Excrement, and Vomit

tassillow's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Trafficking, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, War, Drug use, Addiction, Confinement, and Blood

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Pregnancy

theirgracegrace's review

adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Sea of Poppies whisks you away to a different age that speaks about our own. The story bounces between several characters who are all share the experience of being on a retrofitted slave ship bringing Indian migrants to Mauritius at the dawn of the Opium Wars between Britain and China. The characters are a ragtag bunch who bring with them a vibrancy that I have never seen in historical fiction. The setting's time period and location are immensely deep and alive. The ending leaves a wide opening for many possible interpretations. What more could you want?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Ableism, Trafficking, Vomit, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Body shaming, Deportation, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Drug use, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

haley49's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative medium-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

4.5

Masterfully done work that encapsulates a range of characters from all walks of life in colonial Southern Asia from Indians and Bengalis of various castes to Europeans and Americans, both men and women. I loved all the perspectives and how well they illustrated life in this period. My main issue was that perspectives and names were hard to grasp in an audio format as someone who is not South Asian. I would recommend looking up how the names are spelled to better visualize their pronunciation if you’re like me and struggle with that. Also, it takes a minute to notice perspective swaps because they aren’t organized by chapter and jump around a bit. Check trigger warnings, too; just because sometimes the book feels like a normal adventure and sometimes it veers to violent and/or graphic depictions of various historical realities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Drug use, Racism, Excrement, Rape, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Ableism, Gore, Physical abuse, Body horror, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Violence, Classism, Death, Torture, and Sexual assault

Minor: Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, and War

saintmaud's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Addiction, Racism, Death, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit

thereadingsparrow's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Excrement, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Torture, Sexual assault, Bullying, Violence, Racial slurs, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Slavery, and Rape

blancefloer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Very rich use of language including many words whose cultural background most readers don't have - you can either look them up or just accept that you won't have the images exactly right - and hard-to-read dialects. Totally worth it, though. Such diverse characters, from all kinds of margins, and also just a really fun and adventurous read. Fully recommend

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Addiction, Racism, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Confinement, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment, Murder, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, and War