Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

136 reviews

leensbeans's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Suicide, Cursing, and Infidelity

Minor: Animal death and Child death

asainspace's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Clever, dark, witty, existential book about genocide, war and what it means to photograph and bear witness to inhumanity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicide, Homophobia, Violence, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Sexual assault

jenbosen's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful

5.0

For such a gruesome book, it was remarkably beautiful and hopeful. It is disorienting at first. Stick with it, though, because the farther you get, the more captivating it becomes. (I want to learn more about Sri Lankan history now too.) Definitely not for everyone, but if you like weird existential books, this is a top notch weird existential book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Genocide, Murder, Racism, Police brutality, Child death, Violence, Torture, Death, Animal death, and Suicide

lucyatoz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka was the Booker Prize 2022 Winner.

The book is set in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1990, and tells the story of the death of Malinda Albert Kabalana a.k.a. Maali Almeida, a photographer documenting the civil war, who is also a compulsive gambler and a closeted gay man. He wakes up, confused and dazed, in a crowded office where he is informed that he has seven moons in the "In Between" to attempt to communicate with his family and friends, to find his photos and negatives that will bring down the government.

The story, told in the voice of an omniscient narrator, was sometimes fast paced and engaging, other times it slowed down and became drawn out. It does include some heavy subject matters including war, torture, suicide, genocide and matters of life and death.

I borrowed this book from Taunton Library and listened to the audiobook on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 5, Magical Realism, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Violence, Blood, Murder, Kidnapping, Genocide, Torture, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Rape, and Child death

Minor: Drug use

economydreams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, and Car accident

Moderate: Police brutality, Torture, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, and Animal death

tardigradest's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

holy shit !!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Torture, Death, Suicide, and Homophobia

mwritesdragons's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

4.0

This is a really hard book to give a star rating because of how difficult the subject matter can be; it is a challenging read but worth the effort.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, War, Murder, Violence, Racism, Grief, Gore, Death, Genocide, and Colonisation

sorcha's review

adventurous dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Torture, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide, Addiction, Car accident, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, and Death of parent

duhitsamanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Suicide

dafni's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, and War