Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

2 reviews

ukponge's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Murder, Death, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Child abuse, Homophobia, Dementia, Child death, Violence, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

cassielaj's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and I think that the themes of storytelling, what constitutes a story, and who gets to tell a story were fascinating to trace throughout the novel. 
Of all the characters and their compelling stories, I thought that Filomena and Bienvenida Inocencia really elevated this story. They were both such nuanced characters with my favorite stories, despite the fact that neither particularly thought their story needed to be told. 

I thought that the decision to have Pepito tell Bienvenida’s story at the end, against Alma and Bienvenida’s will, was an effective point to drive home the lives that stories take on outside of their subjects.

 
Note: I found quite a few similarities between this book and Alvarez’s ¡Yo!, which I thought was kind of odd. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Dementia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment