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anoke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Child death, and Child abuse
fivefeather's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Death, Hate crime, Police brutality, War, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Genocide
Minor: Car accident, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Drug use, Animal death, and Death of parent
allisonz6's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Violence, War, Murder, Suicide, Genocide, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Sexual content, and Child death
Minor: Suicide attempt
regans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Death, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Child death, War, Genocide, Gore, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture, Drug use, and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism
clovetra's review
sorry its such a minor pet peeve when books use overly-flowerly language. like yes some description is needed but.,.. this book was too much.
i told myself in 2024 to dnf any book that does not spark joy, and this book did not spark joy at all.
yeah i know im not really giving this book a chance but honestly i dont want to.
that sounds mean
idk i just didn't like it & where it was going!
mayhaps a future pick-up (i highly doubt it sadly)
Graphic: Violence, Death, War, and Blood
Minor: Child death
rosalind's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Murder, and War
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Sexual content, and Homophobia
Minor: Lesbophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, and Genocide
remib's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: War, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Homophobia
mybluebookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
We must all find pointless causes to live for, or why bother with breath?
Sri Lankan war photographer and playboy Maali Almeida wakes up dead. He doesn't remember how or where he died, but he does remember that he left behind a box of his photographs that can change the world. As a ghost, Maali resolves to find a way to publish the photos with the help of his lover and his best friend, over the course of his allotted seven days before crossing into the Light.
I picked this book because I wanted something different, and indeed it is something different. Is historical magical realism a thing? If so, this is it. I admit that I was confused for most of the book, though most of that is due to my lack of knowledge about this aspect of history. But regardless of my ignorance of the atrocities, events, and major players of the Sri Lankan civil war, I was sucked into Maali's story and the fate of both his photographs and his friends. The overall tone of the book is despairing and nihilistic, and yet there are beautiful moments too.
I do recommend this book if it sounds intriguing to you, but I recommend taking a few minutes to skim the Wikipedia entry on the Sri Lankan civil war first.
Graphic: Genocide, Kidnapping, War, Murder, Animal death, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Suicide
clare072's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Violence, Classism, Genocide, Car accident, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, Torture, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Colonisation and Animal death
caoimhemia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Grief, War, Torture, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Genocide, Suicide, Murder, and Homophobia