Scan barcode
nasra's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Mental illness
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
That being said, I think my main problem with this book was the translation of it. One of the biggest challenges with translation work is that you want to save all the nitty gritty— all the small things that make the book uniquely it. However, one of the pitfalls of that is that more often than not keeping the nitty gritty can lend to it reading repetitively to the point of it almost feeling like it "tries too hard" to be literature— to the point where it often falls flat, or the book constantly moves at an inconsistent pace of fast and slow. Especially towards the end, I found myself saying "Wait— how did we get here?" or "What's the main point of this?" Though I guess the second question, in some ways, is the point of the book and it becomes especially clear at the end. This book forces you to sit down, draw your mind back, and paint images in your head of what it could all possibly mean. It forces you to cringe, to feel bored at some parts and fast at others in order to truly get a glimpse of what it means to go mad. What it means to be separated yet ultimately connected to those you love? Care for? Trust? It's never quite defined— and in some ways that is what this work feels intended to be. Undefined. There is beauty in this book, do not get me wrong. But sometimes, that beauty is really hard to find, as I am sure it is hard to preserve and replicate as a translator.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Violence, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism
Just so you know, there are pretty graphic sexual scenes— oftentimes demeaning/discussing the women in strange ways with a murky read of consent. As someone who constantly reads old books that handle the erotic in these ways, I will say that I always believe there is a way you can retell a story that pays attention to these details (even more overt content warnings are sufficient).maya7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Repetitive sentences were a bit hard for me to get into the story at first, but I was horrified reading the last chapter and went back to the first page again, then the story felt different with more understanding about the background.
A dark and powerful novella about the violence and madness caused by war and colonialism.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Kidnapping
ccpetrikas's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship
jessdownes's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Violence, War, Blood, and Death
fernbomb's review against another edition
1.5
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Racism
rebeccaquinton'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Torture, Abandonment, War, Suicide, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Gore, Death, and Colonisation
joshbaird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The only thing I would say is the last couple of chapters really lost me. I've scanned on here and reddit and found some takes that make sense to me, but on the first read I was a bit thrown. I guess that makes sense though, because 'thrown' is an understatement for the protagonist's mental state by the end of the book!
Graphic: War and Violence
maren_hemsath'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
4.5
Graphic: War, Torture, Racism, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Blood
carmen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Death, and Violence