Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

4 reviews

parib's review

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was the first work by Bolano I had read. It took a little while for me to settle into this dreamy, freewheeling stream-of-consciousness approach, but once it clicked it was one addictive rollercoaster of a novel. Unlike anything I had read before or since. I'd describe it as a postmodern odyssey through Latin America, and more generally through the world of literature. Bolano creates a nuanced profile of the politics/social landscape of the art world at a staggering scale. Fixates and fascinates itself with the mundane moments and incongruencies of modern life in a way that almost makes them feel fantastical. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in postmodern literature, as long as you're comfortable with something freewheeling, open-ended, and which doesn't answer any obligation to explain itself for you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

vcriveros's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad 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

5.0

Leí los detectives salvajes por primera vez cuando tenía dieciséis o diecisiete, y lo releí ahora en mis treinta. Es un libro que cambia con los cambios del lector, en que el humor se me hace mucho más patente, ademas de los dolores históricos, las desesperaciones y patetismos de los personajes. 
La polifonía de esta novela - particularmente la parte 2, propiamente los detectives salvajes - está maravillosamente lograda. 
Una novela sobre el fracaso humano, la nece(si)dad de las artes, y los dolores de nuestros modernismos (en todos los sentidos) pasados por el tamiz latinoamericano. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Trafficking, Alcohol, Violence, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, Xenophobia, Eating disorder, Colonisation, Alcoholism, and Blood

trinidad_gondi's review

challenging funny reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide

booksthatburn's review

DNF 45 pages in. I don't normally read slice-of-life books but I tried this and it's just not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, and Sexism

CW for racism, homophobia, self harm (not depicted), bullying, sexism, vomit, sexual violence, violence, death (not depicted).