Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

26 reviews

cloud_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Rape, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Murder, Vomit, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, and Kidnapping

Minor: Pregnancy

mdiffer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

I should hate this book. Yet I couldn't put it down near the end. 
A heartbreaking nightmare that was deeply terrifying to me in unexpected ways. It's about all the ways that "first contact" with alien cultures could go wrong. Intercultural misunderstandings and cultural contamination. But it's also about a Catholic Jesuit finding his god and absolution through a horrible experience.  
It was almost cathartic to finish. I'm shooketh.
Kudos to author Mary Doria Russell for writing this horror masterpiece-- you almost scared 'god' into this atheist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Violence, Mental illness, Ableism, and Slavery

Minor: Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

decapode's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, and Slavery

amandabcook's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Rape, and Child death

Minor: Trafficking and Vomit

lithographic's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense 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

4.25

"I don't know what to do with what happened to me."

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"The Society of Jesus, John noted, was willing to commit to interstellar travel on less than two weeks notice, but did not rush into things like new laundry equipment."

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"He calmed himself with thoughts that would soon shatter his soul. He said to himself: I am in God's hands. Whatever happens to me now is God's will."

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The elevator pitch "Jesuits in space on a first contact mission" is certainly singular enough to grab someone's attention. However I think this book truly shines as an exploration of one remarkable man's intense and painful perception of his relationship with God, with his body, with his own trauma. If God loves him, if God exists, if he loves and trusts God, why then this darkest night of the soul?

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"Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it."

"But the sparrow still falls."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

arayo's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Rape, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Cannibalism

Minor: Pregnancy and Infertility

brenna_kcw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this book. I think it is a fascinating reflection on the concept of “first contact” with a new culture or species, and a beautiful reflection on God and faith. However, knowing that the author saw this book in some sense as a way to bring empathy to the colonizers and conquistadors of humanities past, I don’t find it adequately recognizes their abject cruelty towards the people they met. It is possible to have misunderstandings but the enslavement and genocide of many indigenous people’s was intentional by the people who literally stole them away in ships to be sold in Europe. Those actions can not be misconstrued as anything other than unnecessary and unprecedented cruelty, so I’m still unsure what Russell really hoped to achieve. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, War, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Murder, Vomit, Sexual assault, Body horror, Torture, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Colonisation

The book includes a lot of descriptions of a character with intense and ongoing mental and physical illness including vomiting, body horror/medical consent stuff, which would be more difficult for some audiences. There is a VERY explicit although I wouldn’t say gratuitous description of rape. It centers the fear and horror of rape which is better than the often creepy sexualisation of rape, but it’s really awful to read so pls be aware, it’s within the last 2 chapters that any graphic description is made, the rest is vague.

caintooth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Confinement and Self harm

mfrank's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Slavery

neocookie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts