Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

131 reviews

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-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

4.75

This book has so much to unpack. the writing? delicious. the plot? nuanced and complex. the characters? rich with history and personality. I need to reread this asap because there's just so much to analyze.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Incest, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Death

Minor: Racism

nhewitt99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Following the perspectives of a large family through many points in time, the style of this book is dizzying at first. Give it time, and the same qualities make it completely immersive. The prevailing story is a tragedy, yanked along by nonlinear storytelling that foreshadows every detail before it happens. It's gripping, and moving, and so difficult to put down. 

I was amazed by how many themes Roy could probe through the lens of one family, including love, modernity, history, classism, sexism, colonialism, trauma, and self determinism. Each topic is given respect and nuance via the myriad perspectives offered by the large cast of characters.

The rhetoric is beautiful and makes great use of extended metaphor and symbolism. It's also ripe with the phrase-as-adjective speech that I'm a sucker for, like deep-seaweed-feeling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Classism, Police brutality, and Colonisation

closethikikomori's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Racism, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Incest

shy_i's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Very tough book to read. It contains descriptions of child abuse, domestic abuse, and police brutality.  

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Child death

selimhannah's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, Child death, Classism, Death, Violence, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, Incest, Body shaming, Violence, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Car accident, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Fatphobia

theraindiary's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault

ctmy04's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

5.0

amazing message and spectacular portrayal of a deeply generationally traumatized family in malayam, india. tackles very hard topics and strong emotions, not for the weak-hearted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Death, and Infidelity

jeslis's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Notes:
- Extraordinarily clever writing, absolutely top notch of the books I've ever read before. Returning to previous sentences and motifs in a new context to add layers of meaning was mind-blowing to read.
- Quite slow paced, I felt like every time I read 20 pages I lived about 500 lifetimes. And yet the effect  definitely matched the book really well, I just prefer faster paced books to read in general.
- Overall just extremely clever and emotive — speaks volumes to the writing talent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Incest

r0ry_'s review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

What on gods green earth was that. 
Incest porn is not my thing tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality

hannakutlu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gore, Murder, Colonisation, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting