Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

17 reviews

mpginter's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.0

a couple of far too casual throwaway lines about fat people usually being chosen to kill and the implication that that is the correct answer really took me out of this. the author also doesn’t really delve into the fact that the “correct” option to save is almost exclusively white. i get that it’s sci-fi and meant to be existentially horrifying but a thin white author stating that fat people are so hated they are chosen to die 80% of the time they are included in this and also making all the “ethical” saving choices be white people just……….. idk. hard to tell if it’s purposeful to make you think or if the authors own biases influenced these choices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia and Xenophobia

toristorytime's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

biobeetle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

Minor: Body shaming

cosmicpanda's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Racism, Violence, Grief, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Body shaming, Deportation, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, Medical content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Rape

t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

5.0

5 Stars
CAWPILE = 9.11

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Racism, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Deportation

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

A high tech, virtual reality horror

that discusses social issues such as immigration and citizenship. I went into this expecting a literal test and I was pleasantly surprised by the actual concept of this novella. It really paints a picture of what the UK could become if UKIP (or another far right, nationalist party) were to win an election in the distant future. The extreme nationalism, xenophobia and lack of human empathy was disturbing to read. The fixation on data and numbers taking priority over human safety and wellbeing is an issue we are presently dealing with as a country. To read pages upon pages of this was horrifying, nevermind experiencing it in real life and being subjected to dehumanising screenings of worthiness. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Child abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Deportation, Fatphobia, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, and Xenophobia

andreapap15's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? No

3.0

I've been thinking about this book for 2hrs and I still don't know how I feel. Like others have said, reads like a Black Mirror episode, with commentary on racism and the ridiculous immigration system, with some speculative fiction elements.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Racism

blackcatkai's review

challenging tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I need to get my thoughts in order before I can properly review this one. RTC

UPDATE! i never did quite get my thoughts in order then i forgot to come back. overall, this one started strong but i didnt quite care for the middle or ending of this one. it wasnt bad, just bits here and there that threw me out of the story.

CW:  Gun violence, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia/body shaming, grief, murder, casual ableism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Minor: Ableism

dealingwithdragons's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Bullying

Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, Dementia, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

dalmavatai's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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? No

3.0

This book was definitely memorable and incredibly unique. 

As social commentary, I believe this book is extremely successful. The way that it explores the dangers of the intersection between scientific technology and xenophobia in Britain, all while the country purports to be against prejudice and discrimination, was radical in the best way possible. The dystopian future Neuvel imagines in this short story is a radical critique of our own time and the ways in which 'Western' countries in particular think that they are liberal and accepting, all while perpetuating a status quo that's still very xenophobic, racist, and Islamophobic. 

However, this book wasn't for me in other ways. The explanations of science definitely went way over my head, especially because I listened to the audiobook and couldn't go back if I didn't grasp something fully. I also thought that the plot point towards the end, while I understand its function as commentary, was a bit random and I could not fully appreciate its inclusion in the story, especially as so much was going on already that I found it a bit hard to follow. 

Short stories are not terribly likely to get a very high rating from me because I can't connect to the characters in such a short period of time, but this is a short story that I believe is definitely worth the read even for those not into science fiction. Maybe read the physical book (perhaps along with the audio because Neal Shah's performance is superb) if you want to stay on top of everything that's going on, though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Fatphobia