Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

50 reviews

hedsek's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Conceptually I really like this, but the writing style did not work well for me. I only really felt invested during the last quarter of the book, the rest of the time I sort of didn't care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

katiewhocanread's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Homophobia

Moderate: Animal death and Child death

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

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

georgieleighreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Colonisation, Blood, War, Physical abuse, Genocide, Child death, Car accident, Torture, Suicide, Police brutality, Gore, Death, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault

hannahjb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Grief, Violence, and War

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.

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

2treads's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

– And when you jump you know three things, that the brightness of the light will force you to open your eyes wider, that you will choose the same drink and it will take you somewhere new, and that when you get there, you will have forgotten all of the above –

Call it cultural preference, experience, or influence, but I love a ghost/duppy/spirit-led story. A story that is solely told from the perspective of a recently departed soul that now needs to remember how they died, who killed them, and why.

What I loved about Karunatilaka's take are the lingering vulnerabilities that stay with Maali. He has as much control here in the afterlife as he did while alive. He learns that the spiritual world is just as hierarchical and beholden to power and standing much like the human world.

He is honest in his portrayal of the aftermath and lingering scars of ethnic violence. And though he injects a dry humour, the reader is fully immersed in this broken society.

This was a vividly told story of searching, loss, guilt, and acknowledgment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and War

Minor: Torture, Kidnapping, and Grief