Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

44 reviews

laurafrances's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Suicide, Murder, Blood, War, Racism, Mental illness, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Genocide, and Confinement

Minor: Child death, Deadnaming, Alcohol, and Animal death

thisisfee's review against another edition

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Genocide, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Ableism, Body horror, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

julesleigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a wild bloody violent funny and ridiculous ride. Being set during the Sri Lankan revolution and having it be a revenge plot about what it truly means to be human and to be alive and who we affect is going to be a story that sticks me for a very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Body horror, Genocide, Blood, Death, War, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Gore, Drug abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Alcohol, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Drug use, Cursing, Classism, and Animal death

bookishcori's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Gun violence, Body horror, and Blood

laurenkimoto's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

As someone who knows nothing about the history and war in Sri Lanka I was a little lost for the first 100 pages but after a quick google and getting further into the book, it did start to pick up and the pieces came together. 

I can understand why this won a Booker Prize and I can agree with that but overall wasn’t my favourite book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Grief

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Maali a bad bitch that came from Sri Lanka 3👻

Giving major Cantik itu luka/Beauty is a wound vibes: magical realism at the height of violence of the civil war. 

A must read for anyone wanting to know more about one of the bloodiest civil wars of the 20th century.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Drug use, Mental illness, and War

booksonadventures's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

 Let me introduce you to Maali Almeida: Photographer. Gambler. Slut. 

💫Gist: When war photographer Maali Almeida dies, he finds himself suspended in a purgatory, where he has seven moons to get his affairs in order and advance to the afterlife. Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. As Maali struggles to remember how he died, his living friends rush to find and publish potentially explosive photos that expose corruption of NGOs, rebels, and the Sri Lankan divestment. 

I have never read a book that more creatively encapsulates the impacts of colonization. As our macabre narrator floats around the afterlife, he illustrates the futility of moral superiority when the game has been rigged against you. From casino floors to guerilla war camps, how much control do we ever truly have over our own destiny? Not to suggest we should succumb to despair... but instead, find peace in a "pointless cause to live for" (and do as little harm as possible along the way). 

Anyway, if your idea of coping with mortality is cracking jokes... this may be the book for you. Maali brings top-notch sarcastic humor and a promise that "the universe does not care what you do with your meat suit." Karunatilaka has a snappy and satirical writing style that spares no one from critique. 

Bonus points for the introspection of Sri Lankan ethos, although our book club agreed we'd like more descriptions of the country itself! 

Final thoughts: ❤️ Loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Homophobia, War, Suicide, Police brutality, and Murder

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Infidelity, Gun violence, Addiction, Racism, Gore, Genocide, War, Police brutality, Death of parent, Torture, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings

natverse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

Really loved the supernatural POV and introducing the audience to the politics and blood-steeped history of Sri Lanka. It's uncomfortable but refreshingly jaded and blunt for a POV. And a queer POV as well! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Islamophobia, Homophobia, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Grief, Animal death, and Murder

This is the nature of this book, it's about death, grief and a lot of screwed up things in history in Sri Lanka, but it's also not shying away from these real things that would have happened.