Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

14 reviews

reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A love letter to Chinese languages, storytelling, to their history, to classical music, and family blood and found. A hard hitting read about difficult times and the paths we take to, in the words of one character carve the "life (you) can live with" in the course of survival. Gives a great perspective on the flow of modern history from the eyes if citizens caught in the maelstrom and the search to find their lost narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Abandonment, and Deportation

carmentxx's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-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

4.0

wow. what a book. a sweeping scope of recent chinese history. don’t get me wrong, it’s really long. it’s hard to get through. but my god, the mystical dream like writing is so reminiscent of how traumatising it must have been to live through years and years of systematic gaslighting oppression. it’s a very special book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide

kaitoro_walker13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

An incredible book of a massive scale, this book is a joy to read, and I would fully recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, and Police brutality

Minor: Genocide and Mass/school shootings

riozul's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

lyd41's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Best historical fiction book i have ever read. Worth the lengthy read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

gracefully's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

Thien’s prose is rich and unhurried (although sometimes more burdened than slow), its meandering ambition rendering some characters and storylines more elusive — unresolved — than others. I struggled with a good portion of it, especially across the first half. But the final quarter of the novel was just sublime, a quiet kind of devastation that grows into and from itself, to something of its own altogether.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Police brutality

joanie_l's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

J'ai lu "Nous qui n'étions rien" de Madeleine Thien publié chez Alto.
Le roman retrace l'histoire d'une famille de musiciens de Chine, depuis
la montée du communisme jusqu'aux manisfestations de la place Tian'anmen.
L'écriture éthérée, rappelant le conte, rend avec douceur et émotion les
douleurs des hommes, des femmes et des enfants qui ont vu leurs rêves se
briser, leurs amours s'interdirent, leurs vie se briser. Un roman d'une
grande force !

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, and War

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

Wow, just wow! I do not think that my words can really do justice to this book. The scope of it (in terms of history/story, characters and themes) is honestly spectacular. I could re-read it again and again and still understand and discover new things each time. 

I loved the writing style, it was always beautiful and engaging, and at times wonderfully reflective and lyrical. 

I was enraptured by the big cast of characters, from the older generations to the new one, it was just wonderful (if terribly heartbreaking) to see their stories slowly unfold. 

If you like historical fiction and family sagas I absolutely recommend this book, it is truly a gem in the genre! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer and Rape

aaronjdilkes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Police brutality

heeyitsamy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Police brutality

Moderate: Death of parent and War