Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

25 reviews

potterpav's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.75

this book was a weird one for me . the first part felt like dragging my feet through a river (going against the tide i suppose) but then it picked up abt 45% in . the plot was good although i felt it a bit rushed at times , esp toward the end , although i understood the book couldn’t go on forever . i also don’t rlly understand why he was so insistent on the negatives coming out when nothing even happened when it did .. maybe i just missed something though . overall it was a fun read but not one i’ll come back to in my daydreams i don’t think . after putting in the CWs it looks absolutely crazy but i guess it is lmao

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Body horror, Gore, Child death, Death, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality

Minor: Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

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

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

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

4.0

‘They say that laughter is music but that is just one of the thousand untruths we suckle ourselves with. Some laughs are peakened, some are hideous, some can curdle blood.’

‘We must all find pointless causes to live for, or why bother with breath.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, War, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

forlorn_traveller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Suicide, Infidelity, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Body horror, and Torture

geraldinerowe's review

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

3.75

A well written book with an unusual perspective, and much more than the supernatural whodunnit it could be accused of being. It taught me a lot about Sri Lanka, and its messages on political power and violence could be applied anywhere. However, I found the book to be overly long and, although I enjoyed it, it never really gripped me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, Violence, War, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, and Child death