Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

44 reviews

emjbarnes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

I usually prefer shorter books, and it took me a while to get through this, but it was so worth every page. There isn't a word wasted and the cast of so many characters comes together perfectly at the end. It's a very difficult read but I'd highly recommend it - just read the content warnings first!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Police brutality, Racism, Murder, Infidelity, Gun violence, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Torture, and War

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

mcoleman1250's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Torture, Death, Violence, War, Homophobia, Gore, and Genocide

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense

• 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

Read this book for the books with lee book club on Fable. Maali is dead. He has 7 days to find out who killed him and show his photos to the public. He was a war photographer that worked for all sides during the unrest and violence in Sri Lanka in the 1980s. He's  a closeted gay man, who's lover is the kid of a powerful man and who cheated on his lover all the time. 

The book looks at the impact of violence and history. It touches on family, love, and friendship. It was a tragically beautiful read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Genocide, Gore, Murder, and War

eli3823's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Death, and Police brutality

Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Homophobia, Gun violence, Suicide, and Genocide

Minor: Death of parent

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Gore

herasrevenge88's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Addiction, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Transphobia, Suicide, Violence, War, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

h4rm0ny's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Death, Murder, Gun violence, War, Child death, Torture, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Police brutality

jaimeeslitlife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious 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

4.5

"You wake up with the answer to the question that everyone asks. The answer is Yes, and the answer is Just Like Here But Worse."

Meet Maali Almeida: War photographer, gambler, and closeted gay man. Maali wakes in the unique position of being both victim and sleuth in the case of his murder. THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA takes place in the midst of bloody, war-torn Sri Lanka, and while this story is brutal, it is also chaotically tender and beautiful. 

Karunatilaka's writing is exquisite but it did take a minute to wrap my head around - at about 30 pages in I took a deep breath and started over, and after that I felt like I had a much better grasp on what was happening and how the writing flowed. This is a story full of complexities and uncertainties. Life and (at times unsettling) humor exist in the same place as death and horror. There are no 'good guys' - every side thinks their war is justified, and everyone is corrupt. Maali's surreal journey over his seven moons is full of witnessing and sharing and forgetting and losing through memory and photography.

SEVEN MOONS is a mystery, an exposé, a gay love story, and a story about humanity told by someone who is no longer human. This is a tremendous read that I am sure I will revisit and continue to think about for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Physical abuse, Murder, Homophobia, and Gun violence

eileenp59's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Hate crime, Suicide, Police brutality, Genocide, Death, Torture, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Child death

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

bmkodak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective 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

4.25

The seven moons of Malinda Almeida is a very complex narrative, whose central character is a photojournalist. The setting of this book is quit complicated, it is set in Sri Lanka a country ravished by war. The author does a good job of providing the necessary information for the better understanding of the reader. However if you want to get more out of this book I advise a previous study of the political situation in Sri Lanka.
Malinda, despite being a flawed character, has a very interesting development in his journey roaming the « in between».
Personally I was most interested in the journalism aspect of the book. With that said I think the after life adds a completly different twist to the narrative and doesn't take away from other aspects of the story.
Very enjoyable reading and very informative about Sri Lanka.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Sexual content, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, War, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Torture

Minor: Colonisation and Infidelity