Reviews tagging 'Gore'

There There by Tommy Orange

29 reviews

booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

challenging informative relaxing sad tense medium-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

5.0

This was such a heart wrenching book and an all around literary masterpiece. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy (I borrowing from the library) and rereading this over and over.

This is the kind of multiple-POV book where a bunch of stories start out seeming kind of disjointed, and then they all come together and intertwine in a satisfying way that you get to uncover throughout your read. Each chapter is told by one of several characters, where each has their own voice that is unique to them and that helps the reader really empathize and connect with them.

The book reveals fairly early on what traumatic event will take place at its climax, so it has a slow-burn thriller feel to it as the story progresses. This, plus the fact that you've built such deep connections with the characters make the read feel even more exhilarating as you start to see events unfold towards the climax and you wonder if the characters you've come to know and care about progressing towards that event.

I really loved that that author included some non-fiction chapters in the story, and I thought that the self-insert character, Dene, was written really tastefully yet in a way that singled to the reader what he was aiming for with the book. This books also teaches a lot about different Native American experiences, and I really enjoyed that about it.

The writing was so beautiful and full of symbolism that one could spend hours pondering, and this is all around a book that will stick with me. It's so heart wrenching and so sad, but only in the way that some of the best books are. 10/10

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Abortion

eveybrittin's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I love books where there are several character perspectives that are connected through events/history/happenstance. This book had that, which was cool, but there were so many different characters that I had a hard time remembering who was to connected to who. A couple times I completely forgot who characters were, since some only had 2 or 3 chapters that were a page or two long. I like that format in that I got to see lots of different Native American lives. I didn't love it because I wasn't able to form much of an emotional connection with any of the characters. I really enjoyed the cultural aspects of the book; the depictions of the regalia and dancing were beautiful! A lot of the stories were left completely open-ended, which I'm sure was done on purpose, but I hate not knowing the real ending. I'm soooo excited to hear the author speak!! And I'm super excited to study this more in depth in class this fall, I think it will help me understand the connections between characters more. I have a lot of lingering questions so hopefully I get the chance to ask the author 🤞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Death

Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Abandonment

mdwsn27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

libbybooboo1123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

thoughts:
I don’t usually read contemporary so this was a good book to get me out of my comfort zone. The writing was superb, the complexity of the characters was enthralling and the connections between them intricate. The moments of reflection were also great.

 I would have loved to know what happens to the characters next, I feel like the ending was so sudden and there were still story lines that didn’t get wrapped up fully. There was a lot of backstory on the characters until suddenly the tragic events happens and then it’s chaos. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

cheazcakeguy's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This was a powerful read. Tommy Orange's writing feels like there's a real weight behind it with every sentence. It forces you to slow down at times and really reflect on the characters and their stories. You experience the full range of human emotion while reading this book, and there were several truly gut-wrenching moments, especially at the end. The ending

was shocking yet inevitable, and I can't stop thinking about the incredible metaphor of the spider's web, both a home and a trap, which brought the characters together...

Highly recommend, though this isn't a light read and it will tear your heart out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

imartine's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Colonisation

dee_hzz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

kimschouwenaar's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad 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? No

4.0

Secrets lie through omission just like shame lies through secrecy.

This took me so long to actually get into. Started reading this for my world lit class last May, and kind of forgot about it until I saw it again in my currently reading list.

This book is written from multiple perspectives and in first-person, second-person and third-person narrative. I think the main problem I had when I started reading is the amount of characters; each chapter is from the perspective of a different character, and in the final 25 chapters — which are all very short — they all come together at the powwow.

But those final 25 chapters had me crying. Reading the book, you know what's coming, and yet you remain hopeful that there will be some kind of interference so the ending will change. It's absolutely heartbreaking. There There is not only a story about Native American history, but it's also a tale about surviving in a system that is built against you. Would definitely recommend to everyone, you just need to get through the first couple of chapters and familiarise yourself with all the characters. Hard to digest, but definitely worth your time.

We didn't have last names before they came. When they decided they needed to keep track of us, last names were given to us, just like the name Indian itself was given to us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Violence

felofhe's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mountain_adventures's review against another edition

sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Spectacular book. I could not put it down. The story is told from multiple points of view and eventually all weaves together. You have to really pay attention in the beginning to remember who is who, but that resolves itself by about halfway when the stories start to weave together. There is a lot of content in this book that bother sensitive readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Grief, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy