Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

73 reviews

aviabraham's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.0

This book was such a freaking bummer. I loved the overstory a lot which is the only reason I read this, since it’s really not my usual kind of book, but I was super disappointed. The narrator is the most boring, annoying character in the story. I found the way the author talks about women to be bizarre and dehumanizing.  The ending felt rushed and didn’t make sense with the rest of the narrative. Would not recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

astridrv's review

The hardest book to review this year.
I love Powers’ writing - yes it’s grandiose and saccharine and dramatic and I love it. Some pages left me breathless - the space chapters?? Perfection.
It felt cathartic to have my gut feelings about the climate crisis put unflinchingly in words.
I do think the books has some interesting things to say about neurodivergence: to which extend is the society we are supposed to function in even desirable? What treatment helps you to live, what treatment changes you, what doesn’t change you, why does it matter? What do we owe our children and ourselves? How to parent with a broken heart in a broken world?
But I also feel really conflicted about how Robbie’s autism was dealt with in the book, and I’m really upset by the ending, that is so seeped in the ableist trope of “ultra sensitive being representing humanity’s consciousness and downfall” when he is just a young human who deserves care and guidance and happiness.
I can sense that it was written with nothing but love, but I have big issues with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death of parent, and Ableism

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death

lindsayorme's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

kirstym25's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Ableism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident and Animal death

gentle_human's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Self harm, Animal death, Child death, Grief, Suicide, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Ableism

blessedbamboo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Ableism, and Cursing

virginia_vex's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Death of parent

okayletsread's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

There are so many devastating themes packed into a fairly compact package. On the surface, this book seems to be about astrobiology, conservation, environmentalism, animal rights, and politics. Really, it's an exploration of a father-son relationship as they navigate the grief of Aly, Theo's wife, and Robin's mom.

The writing is at times stunningly crafted, and other times, it was a bit meandering. I have a hard time really investing in books that very directly have an agenda, but much of the prose still kept me interested. The climax at the end felt a bit rushed, too. My feelings are a bit all over the place with this one, but it sure made me think. Good books do that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death of parent, and Mental illness

violetbin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

kaitlouise94's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Child death

Minor: Mental illness