Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

41 reviews

anna_banana99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

menomica's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

Aunque es un libro muy largo y muy denso, a mí me ha gustado el linaje familiar y como los eventos y sucesos tienen se influencian entre sí. Está lleno de trigger warnings, pero si lo puedes aguantar, y si tienes mucho tiempo que perder, y eres fan del drama y historias largas y enrevesadas, te recomiendo este libro (no lo digo como insulto: como ya he dicho, me ha gustado el libro bastante).

PS: El peor personaje de todo este libro es sin duda, Esteban Trueba. La mejor fue Clara Del Valle

y ADIVINAD QUIÉN MUERE PRIMERO

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Car accident, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Stalking, Vomit, and Ableism

lanid's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs

howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Beautiful, enthralling, sometimes difficult and disturbing, but I wanted it to never end

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Grief, and Racism

Moderate: Hate crime, Grief, Pedophilia, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

tinana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, and Racism

joneva's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

maggie_desu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Allende's ability to write about three generations, all intertwined, including historical moments and so much more is really amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

qingyigeshu's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence

monse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Domestic abuse

coinmanatee's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

Read for Class.  I actually skipped ahead. I didn't have time nor the patience nor the will to read most of the middle section. Maybe that's where it gets good? But I doubt it. 

I liked this book right up until the moment Esteban Trueba opened his mouth. It's very very difficult to like a book that makes a rapist it's hero. A rapist, conservative, abusive, asshole of a man who never learns his lesson and dies without ever once realising that his actions are the reason that the rest of his family suffers such horrendous atrocities. 

In any other book this man would have been the villain, and the point would have been to get away from him. In this book another man is introduced who is even more monstrous. 

It's also just, really horrifically violently sexual in a lot of other ways that I got sick of very quickly. It's hard to like books that are sexual like that when you're Ace. 

The one shining character in this book is Clara. I liked reading about her. 

Unfortunately she was surrounded by idiots who treated her as a child,  or an object, which did ruin her a bit. If you have a woman in your family who regularly performs magic, and makes prophecies, why aren't you listening to her every word? Idiots. There were tons of things that could have been prevented or at least the danger of lessened if anyone had thought "hey, maybe the earthquake the medium is predicting IS going to be horrific. We should take precautions!"

Ugh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death

Classism