Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

189 reviews

dr_acula's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Homophobia, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Genocide, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Drug use, and Alcohol

sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• 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

4.25

This was an interesting read. I went into this with very little knowledge of the civil war in Sri Lanka, but came out with a general understanding of the time and what it was like to live within it. This was partially a result of the book, but I was also intrigued enough to engage in my own research, which I think was the best way to read this book and if this doesn't sound like an interesting time to you, then this book may not work as well for you. The second-person prose was an interesting choice that I wasn't sure about at first, but I think it worked for the story, or at least didn't take away from the narrative the author was trying to tell. Magical realism in a book about civil war was a choice I was intrigued but wary about going into this, but the balance between the realistic and unrealistic worked in this context to show Maali's life, his photography and the brutalities of the civil war. Aside from the brutalities of war that the book showed, it was actually quite funny and sarcastic and witty at times, which was a good contrast to some of the intense content covered. There were parts of this novel that were a little repetitive and slow-paced, which is why it wasn't a five star for me, but I enjoyed the reading experience, even if the content and storyline of the book was not necessarily "enjoyable". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Murder, Car accident, Drug use, Death of parent, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Torture, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Sexual content

forestfloor's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

"You are thinking of that most impossible of all mythical creatures: the Honest Politician."

I found a lot of this book really compelling: the characters, the descriptions of Sri Lanka, the world building of the afterlife. I didn't know anything about Sri Lanka before and it certainly made Sri Lankan '80s politics intriguing. 

However, I found the prose quite difficult to follow - I didn't really get into it until about half way through. This is probably in part because it's written in second person, which isn't my personal favourite. I think that the concept of being able to go where your name is spoken was really cool but it resulted in a constant jumping between locations and interactions which was also interspersed with past memories and I found it quite disjointed - it didn't make for easy reading.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, War, and Police brutality

Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

chrisiant's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

It took me several false starts, but once I was in I was hooked. Vivid sensory descriptions of Sri Lanka  and all its ghosts, and lots of intrigue, corruption, suffering and striving for redemption. It’s a wild ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and War

Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Suicide, and Violence

kalyaniwarrier's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, and Violence

molliekneath's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, War, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Torture

bluedijon's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Goodness, I loved this book. Maali is such a compelling, complex character, and it was bittersweet joy to follow him through his journey. This book is explicit in its descriptions of the Sri Lankan civil war, and uses the long tradition of magical realism to make sense of the horrors inflicted by people on their neighbors and themselves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Blood, Homophobia, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Classism, Murder, Death, and Genocide

remib's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Homophobia

my_a's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.5

I really enjoyed reading this. Beautiful writing and unique. It got me out of a big reading slump. 
-.5 as I often found bits hard to follow and I often had to re-read sections and trace names back.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia and Torture

natyourusual_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.0

It’s starts off really slow, but as more moons pass the story truly goes somewhere else. I enjoyed the commentary it made about life and violence and self. If you hate the first two moons, just know it gets better in the second half. Check the trigger warnings before you read!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Minor: Colonisation and Confinement