Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

151 reviews

amandahjy's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

Written from the perspective of a pair of 7-8 year old "two egg twins" as they make sense of complex events that take place in their nation and personal lives, so the language can be quite sing songy and humorous at times (I didn't particularly enjoy this). But the book occasionally segments into this beautiful poetry and commentary on post colonialism in India, race, the caste system and the commodification of local culture for tourism.

Pacing of the novel is slow, and the storyline can get quite confusing, as it constantly jumps from when the twins were young children to adults. But I really enjoyed the last third of the book, when the story picks up and we find out what happens to Sophie Mol. 

(Also, the author seems to have an unhealthy obsession with "balls," which I don't get 😅)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

aga89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Abandonment

eroar001's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

sunny_not's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

It was very dark, brutal and hard hitting. I think that you should be in the mind space to read this to be able to read this since the content warnings list is very long. Also the language was very poetic which was nice most of the time but sometimes it made this quite hard to read. Overall a really important piece of literature but I really wished there wouldn't be incest in this... 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

aaronjdilkes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

patricia99nicole's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Police brutality

Moderate: Child death

sarahcollinson's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Police brutality

Minor: Rape

ahermitreads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.25

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts of it that really drew me in, in particular the parts that dove deep into the backstories of the adult characters. I enjoyed learning more about Ammu and her dysfunctional family. 

I wasn't too fond of reading the book in a child's voice. The made-up language got a bit tiresome to read. I also didn't feel like the children's innocence contributed much to the story thematically anyway. (I also found them low-key annoying.) 

The timeline was also a little hard to keep track of for no apparent reason. I felt that the story would have been more impactful if relayed chronologically. Overall, it felt a bit like style took precedence over substance. The writing is beautiful. It's a pity that the metaphors got a bit long-winded at times. A more condensed version of the book would've been perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

sunflowersinta's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

domesticatedfox's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

The blurb about Roy creating her own language for this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Domestic abuse