Reviews tagging 'Violence'

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

8 reviews

emily_koopmann's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Classism, Police brutality, and Child death

Minor: Incest

seventhswan's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This Other Eden is heartbreakingly bleak almost from start to finish; honestly, I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I knew just how *sad* it was going to be. From the first few pages, I felt afraid for the characters as they were introduced, knowing from the blurb and the true story this is based on that a distressing ending was inevitable. And I so quickly grew to love the characters - my initial worries that there would be too many to keep track of were unfounded. Esther in particular was so compelling and I could have read an entire book just about her.

I don't know how to describe how affecting this story was, or how well-written. It doesn't rely on graphic descriptions of any of the horrors that befall the inhabitants of Apple Island, but the way they are alluded to and couched in figurative language is somehow worse. I can't not recommend this book, but it isn't one I expect to want to return to for a very long time.

Audrey Magee's The Colony on steroids, or perhaps tranquillisers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Incest, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Animal death, Rape, and Violence

ebpertner's review

dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Animal death

kk_gotit_goinon's review against another edition

dark emotional informative slow-paced

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

2.0

 Nothing happens in this book. I feel that there's no nuance or anything deeper. It just is what it is. The eugenics parts can be interesting if you know the history and the details of it,  but I don't think you'll get it if you haven't heard of it/don't have a science background where you learned a lot about it. I couldn't get attached to any of the characters, I felt bad for them but I didn't fall in love either. It's a quick listen at least. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Incest, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Sexual assault, Murder, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Animal death, and Ableism

kathycz's review

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is the best book I've read in the last couple of years. Gorgeously written without being pretentious, based on historical fact but imaginatively rendered, rich in character with a plot that moves without taking over. I read Paul Harding's Tinkers and liked it fine, but This Other Eden is a gem. When I finished, I was ready to turn around and start over again, just to pay attention to how Harding does it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Racism and Incest

brynpemery's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Racism, Animal death, Death, Deportation, and Incest

Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Pregnancy

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Racism, Colonisation, Death, Classism, and Incest

Moderate: Murder, Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Blood, and Violence

jouljet's review

challenging emotional reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Ableism, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Violence