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abnerbee's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Sexual violence, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Violence
It's so violent and so graphic, just know that going in.latabernaderol's review against another edition
Después de 350 páginas y de intentos todas las semanas, no logré engancharme y definitivamente me costaba agarrarlo cada vez que me ponía a leer. El plot me había parecido super interesante, es de fantasía y tiene mapas, nada podía salir mal (?. De hecho, muchos lo comparan con game of thrones y hasta Neil Gaiman -que me encanta lo que hace - dió una review super positiva.
Básicamente trata de un grupo que se une para buscar a un niño que había sido secuestrado (el motivo se conoce muuuuuuuy adelante en el libro). El personaje principal, Rastreador, tiene un olfato superhumano que le permite justamente rastrear cualquier olor que conozca, incluso a miles de kilómetros de distancia.
Como positivo quiero remarcar que tiene cosas de mitología africana super interesantes, hay demonios, dioses, distintas tribus y culturas, monstruos, shapeshifters y demás.
Como negativo, si bien estaba esperando gore y cosas turbias, personalmente me pareció demasiado y me costaba leerlo.
Trigger warning- se vienen comentarios sobre violencia sexual/física/psicológica:
-La narración no es lineal, cosa que generalmente no me molesta, pero las primeras 200 y pico de páginas son de historias random del personaje principal que saltan en el tiempo sin ningún criterio aparente (hasta ese momento al menos) y se hace muyyyy largo. Como decía antes, recién arrancan la quest principal un poquito antes de donde dejé de leerlo.
-Casi en todos los capítulos (que btw son super largos, algunos incluso de 57 páginas por lo que el "un capitulito más y me duermo" no se aplica para esta novela) hay abusos sexuales, pedofilia, bestialidad, violencia física y psicológica. Estos temas son muy constantes, a mi criterio no tan relevantes para la trama y hasta que pasan como si nada... me refiero a que sentí que estaban narrados a veces de una manera muy liviana para lo que estaba describiendo. Esto fue principalmente lo que me hizo dejar el libro...
Ojo, hay reviews super mixtas respecto a este libro, y hasta fue nominado a varios premios y creo que ganó otros. Hay gente que lo ama, gente que lo odia y gente que no lo pudo terminar (como yo). Por ahí en otro momento de mi vida le doy otra oportunidad y quizás en las páginas que me faltaba todo cambiaba y me volaba la cabeza (?
Me gustaría leer otras cosas del autor, porque todo el mundo habla genial de él.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Child abuse
magehydrate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Marlon James is clearly a talented writer, and also seemed to have done a lot of research into African (I believe specifically west african? could be wrong) legends and myths, but still this book was at times nearly impassable. Every type of extreme sexual violence is written about in great detail, including pedophelia, beastiality, sexual torture. The list goes on—I’ve actually seen a list going around of all the “triggers” in this book. The main characters are all foul people, even in the depths of their love or flaws, they reek. Tracker, the teller of the tale, may to be blame for that, for he is a man overcome with anger and nothingness and everything is through his eyes. Even when a violent act is not being done, the characters never have kind things to say, and often their dialogue is a threat, typically sexual in nature. Aside from the sheer amount of violence, James tries too hard to make the plot complex, and loses the thread for most of the book. What could have been a cool search party journey turns into something at times totally illegible because he’s trying so hard? The dialogue is almost exclusively nonsensical riddles, which at first is sort of engaging and requires close reading, but eventually one realizes that the riddles are not opening doors to greater meaning, but rather putting off meaning entirely. (Which might actually be on purpose? So much of the book is about stories and lies, the absence and construction of truth and story. What would a character who is without any meaning at all think of meaning?)Somehow, despite all that…I read the whole thing and was drawn into the world which was huge and imaginative. The monsters are interesting, and so are the enchantments and magics, though they’re all cruel and disgusting (but shouldn’t magic be kind of unpleasant??)and I did find myself invested. It is hard to say what kind of development happens for the characters—for instance , Tracker hates women and that is brought to his attention almost 80% of the way thru the book, but the resolution is two vague sentences about finally seeing his mom again and crying at her feet. In fact it makes one wonder if James himself hates women, because he does address how little choice and mobility women have, even in this fictional non western fantasy realm, but there isn’t a single woman in the book who isn’t conniving, selfish and evil… But again, Tracker sort of admits at the beginning of the book that he might be lying, and we are reminded that this entire tale is through his lens. Man. this is a crazy book. There is so much to say about it and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time. Not sure if I will read the others in this series. Might write another review after some time, when I’ve had more time to think about it.
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Rape, Trafficking, Transphobia, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture
thenymphsvoice's review against another edition
- 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
However that’s not a bad thing. BLRW is a wild ride, I found the characters compelling, funny, sad, rage inducing.
This story was not afraid to deal with harsh realities even if this is a fantasy.
Trackers life is disjointed and many times dehumanizing. They struggle to understand themselves and their world, as it often changes with the snap of a finger around them.
They adapt they hurt, they grow or don’t in the perfectly imperfect way people do.
What I would say to anyone going into reading this is, prepare yourself to not always understand what is happening. That is a reflection of the characters confusion of events and the way their life has been broken by the traumas they have and do endure. (At least that’s how it read to me.)
The mystery and journey is second to me to the journey that Tracker is on in their own head. Invest in Trackers experience.
Also… if you can think of it Trigger/Content Warning. It’s in this book. Be prepared.
Graphic: Abandonment, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Torture, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and War
Just like all the things, this book is not for the faint of heart or easily triggered.vedpears's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Abundant run on sentences took some getting used to, but I managed to navigate that just fine.
I enjoyed how the story was written in such a way that it was like viewing a large photo by zooming in, then zooming out a bit, zooming in somewhere nearby, zooming out again until the whole picture is revealed.
What I did not enjoy was the overwhelming number of elements that would warrant trigger warnings: sex, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, slavery, bodily harm, mutilation, murder, combinations of all of those at once with a gratuitous serving of explicit language.
The overarching story is intriguing. The characters and concepts borrowed from African history and mythology were woven in very well. If this were written to be less corrosive on the psyche, I would have rated it higher.
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Vomit, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Ableism, Addiction, Slavery, Stalking, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
It basically has all the trigger warnings, including infanticide.mgraceoliver's review against another edition
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Excrement, Gore, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, and Rape
eli3823's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Slavery, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Murder, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Excrement
nate_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was hard to follow at times but well worth the effort and time. It's a long book but so exquisitely told!
The author does not shy away from extremely graphic depictions of the acts of his characters, including sexual assault, murder, and war crimes against children. I actually had to set it aside after the first time I tried listening to it until a time when I was more able to handle the violent opening scene and get into the fascinating characters beyond. Maybe next year I'll be up to listen to the sequel! I hope they get the same narrator. He did a phenomenal job!
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Colonisation, Murder, Cursing, Gore, Trafficking, War, Sexual violence, Child death, Drug use, Sexual content, Classism, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, and Animal death
e_asw_97's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I took a full star off my rating, however, because I am disappointed to see how, even in this masterful upheaval of fantasy, women are still made to endlessly suffer, and to be the cause of the male characters' greatest suffering. few, if any, main characters are female, and those who are die quickly, or live only to serve the ends and purpose of the male characters. I want so badly for literature to move past this convention, this unending commitment to a misogynistic ideal, and to engage with it beyond a throwaway line from a supporting character asking the main character why he hates women so much. I could go on about the gratuitous and unsympathetic use of violence and rape in this book, and how the author wholeheartedly fails to resolve his own main character's virulent hatred of women, but to do so would echo decades of criticism of genre and literary fiction. I am simply disappointed that this book, which was lauded for flouting convention and being a "revolutionary" work, simply conformed to the worst parts of its genre. I had hoped for otherwise.
Graphic: Trafficking, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Body horror, Violence, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Grief, War, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse
t_thekla's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Death of parent, Excrement, Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War
lotsa bad stuff