Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Páradais by Fernanda Melchor

59 reviews

hukkelberg's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

What a sad little thing. It's just mulch. Irritating, frustrating, upsetting mulch. It paints a picture, spends so many pages painting a huge glance at the holes and corners of the workings in this country. The way its written, the huge sentences, steeps the text in a false sense of urgency that tricks you into thinking something's going to happen and then it doesn't, it never does. But it makes its point. The voice is this way because Polo's life is this way and it convinces you, as it convinced him, that this endless rhythmic drudgery is all that ever will be. He's barely present in the end, in his own mind, and that had the unfortunate consequence of making me as detached as he willed himself to be so he could process it. I started it yesterday evening, around midnight, and finished it now, not without it putting me to sleep thrice. It's a serious book, deals in serious matters, but instead of bringing you in, it makes you into the unengaged spectator of an avalanche of tragedies that so overwhelmingly supersedes the scope of action of its protagonist there is no moment you are tempted to commune with whatever it's attempting to speak on. It's like watching the news form another room. But it's not bad, nor is it dumb. It's just sad and little.

EDIT: Bumping this up half a star, not because it's any better, but because I just had to work on a place just like the one described here and I understood intimately, immediately, the feelings of the main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Classism, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, and Incest

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

reading_racoon69's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

It was really good but honestly not my style 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

reider's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

coramorton02's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Murder, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, and Incest

fifinlayson's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

srm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Even though I'm not typically one for this style of stream of consciousness-ish writing, it's hard not to be invested and moved by Polo's attempts to find a way out of his poverty and misery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Torture, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Rape

Minor: Drug use, Child abuse, and Vomit

emilyacres's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Violence, Incest, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexism, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Kidnapping, and Vomit

Moderate: Colonisation, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, and Classism

chaoscat's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual assault, and Rape

jmonca's review

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse and Gun violence