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julesleigh's review against another edition
- 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
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
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Murder, Drug use, Classism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Police brutality, Sexism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
elerireads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
A few misc. thoughts:
- Apparently this was a rewrite intended to be more accessible to non Sri Lankan readers. I wonder what the original was like because this was still confusing and I had to google lots of things. Might be worth having a pen and paper to write down who all the different groups are. As far as I can tell though, it doesn't much matter if you can't completely keep track because it's not really about their specific causes anyway.
- Interesting how Maali kept referring to DD's environmentalism as naïve when Maali is by far the most naïve character in the book, genuinely believing that his photographs could change the course of the war.
- I got lulled into such a false sense of security over his sexuality. Don't want to spoil it but bloody hell.
- I absolutely would not have picked this book for myself, even though the cover is absolutely gorgeous. Too much (at least superficial) resemblance to The Lovely Bones. So credit to my sister for knowing my taste better than I do and giving this to me for Christmas.
Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Violence, War, and Torture
laurenkimoto's review
- 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
I can understand why this won a Booker Prize and I can agree with that but overall wasn’t my favourite book.
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
- 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
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.
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
abvi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicide attempt, War, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
bethsicle's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Murder, Homophobia, War, Death, and Infidelity
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Car accident, Torture, Outing, Cursing, Colonisation, Alcohol, Child death, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Addiction, Classism, Hate crime, Drug use, Blood, Gore, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment
rowanasm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, and War
rhi_'s review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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