Reviews tagging 'War'

Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk

9 reviews

anna_pearl's review

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Infidelity, Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death

saint_eleanor's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

a very beautiful examination of the human condition told over 2 generations.
The story takes place in the possibly unreal village of Primeval and follows a number of different residents through their 'times' as they grow old and die and are born all set during pre/during/post WWII. It has heavy themes of survival and loneliness and like focusing on the small things people cling to when they start to witness their own mortality.
I particularly loved the story of Cornspike & Ruta, and the old woman Florentynka. I also really liked the 'game' which was pretty much just an analysis of faith and god.
I think I liked the first 3/4 of the book way more than the last quarter, possibly because the last quarter was just so bleak. If you liked Lapvona you might like this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Rape and War

currantcat's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

2.5

I read this book for a book club and even though it wasn't for me, I'm still glad I read it. I can see the artistic merit of the book, but the switches of focus on many characters in each chapter made it hard for me to feel invested in each character. I actually was the most invested in Primeval as a character, which had the most development. If you do read this book, please check the content warnings. A lot of the scenes are brutal and explicit. I think they also hit me a little too hard, making me enjoy the book less. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, War, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Antisemitism, Addiction, and Child death

Minor: Ableism, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

zazreads's review

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

This book let's you love it's characters and then makes you watch as they decay. 
A portrayal of the futility of human mortality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Antisemitism

Minor: Mental illness

sunnybopeep's review

5.0

Oh my God, you just have to read it. Don’t read Lapvona. Read THIS.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Ableism, Gun violence, War, Xenophobia, and Animal cruelty

If you’re bad with WWII stuff, maybe you shouldn’t read this tho.

morning_sky's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, War, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death and Rape

Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse

adaaa's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Miscarriage, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Domestic abuse, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

It's a lil heavy. Read it. It's amazing.

joshhornbeck's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

FIRST THOUGHTS:
This is an absolute masterpiece. A series of small vignettes that all take place in the same small Polish village (and its surrounding areas), the novel follows three generations of the village’s inhabitants as they survive war and occupation, get married and have children, and learn what it means to live and move through this broken and miraculously beautiful world. There are gorgeous movements into myth and magical realism, where the trees become characters, the dead march through the village, and angels guard our protagonists. And there are moments of brutally realistic violence and assault as the novel explores what it means to be a country that have been occupied over the years by different invading armies. It effortlessly captures the passage of time - how swift and steady it is, how you’re a child one moment and an old man the next. And there is so much here about faith and gender roles and our relationship to the earth and our rootedness to place… I feel like I could only begin to scratch the surface here. This is an outstanding novel - one of my favorite books of the year. And it’s one I certainly need to return to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia

sourryebread's review

reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, War, Death, and Sexual content