Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Die Brandstifter by R.O. Kwon

16 reviews

booitsnathalie's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide, and Death of parent

mayadelaine's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

While the last fourth of this novel is tense, dark, and twisting, everything I expected it to be, the majority of The Incendiaries is slow and banal. The change of pace and rise of tension was too abrupt and too late into the novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Rape, and Toxic relationship

rachelnoel's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Abortion, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

leneliest's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Suicide

ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Grief, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Self harm

Moderate: Abortion and Murder

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mental illness, and Stalking

hilaryreadsbooks's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Car accident, Rape, Murder, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

lain_darko's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Suicide

schmitzy_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Car accident

Moderate: Rape

georgiakirkegard's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Suicide

kry_yang's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Honestly a forgettable read for me. I almost DNF-ed in the middle, because there wasn't really any deep substance (plot, character, theme, or style-wise) that was compelling enough for me to pick it up. But the book is a super fast read, so I figured I should still finish it just to say that I read this book.

I think The Incendiaries attempts to tackle concepts like religious fanaticism, faith, love, and grief. I couldn't really connect with any the characters though. RO Kwon really takes her time developing a dream-like, surreal vibe to the entire story, but her style just left me feeling confused and frustrated. While reading, I kept getting the characters' perspectives mixed up. The ending was my favorite part of the book, but I think that's only because something concrete and action-worthy actually happens in the last 50 pages. I feel like this is the type of book where, despite reading the entire story, I still need to refer to the back of the cover when describing it to someone else.

I think R.O. Kwon is a really talented writer (and an overall super-cool person). But nothing is this book *really* worked for me. There was beautiful language, some poignant descriptions of characters' meditations on faith, and I did get some dark-academia vibes with the Noxhurst college setting. Unfortunately, that's pretty much everything I enjoyed about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Drug use

Minor: Rape and Suicide