Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

10 reviews

crypticmetall's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

I picked this book up because I wanted to understand men... soft gently complex and utterly nuance men. Male friendship with a deep innate love for one another that isn't normalized in media. Seeing their story fleshed out in a way that felt genuine, understood and with a bittersweet end was a wonderfully sad experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Cancer

annatroughton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide, Death, and Medical trauma

Minor: Death of parent

pkc's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This was an achingly sad book in how it ends and the inevitability of the ending but a really sweet story of a nontoxic male relationship growing up in Thatcher ravaged Britain. I love the protagonists, though I found their dialogue reminiscent of Renton and Sick Boy (though the plots of Trainspotting and Mayflies couldn’t be less comparable) and it annoyed me slightly in places. Tully’s wife Anna really bothered me in places too, but with the subject matter, O’Hagan does a really good job of the light and dark of such a complicated debate. I will also say it was gorgeously written despite my occasional gripes with the dialogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Death, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

emilyrowanstudio's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I am ruined for all future books. Somebody hold me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Suicide, Dementia, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

alisonannk's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Grief, Cancer, Alcohol, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexism, and Dementia

Minor: Xenophobia

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked it. I may have even liked it a lot. The characters are fun. The prose is sharp, witty, and buoyant. But I didn’t love it. I can’t get into it too much without spoilers, but I’ll say it’s a book with an ending that is a forgone conclusion (intentionally). And for me, books structured in this way really need to harness that forgone ending to transform their characters through the book’s inevitable conclusion. Otherwise, for me, there’s nothing to hold onto and no surprises in the narrative. For me, the characters largely stayed the same from start to finish. And the relationships were fun and dynamic for sure. But without some way in which the march toward the book’s ending fundamentally altered them or their relational dynamics, it was hard for me to attach to the story. However, again, the characters were wonderful and I think the author did a great job at getting us invested in them individually, just not in the story they were being challenged with, if that makes sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide, Dementia, Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Death of parent

likerealpeople's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death

Minor: Death of parent and Vomit

christiemackie'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Drug use, and Vomit

grace_lola14's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

this is the best book i’ve ever read. broke my damn heart in two with all its joy and sadness. just brilliant 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Dementia, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicide, and Terminal illness