Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

10 minut i 38 sekund na tym dziwnym świecie by Elif Shafak

4 reviews

alyssatuininga's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-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

What an absolutely beautiful book! I picked this book up as part of my read around the world challenge.  The writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are so deep and rich. I will definitely read more of her books. Not many books draw me in from the first line but this one did. I was sad it was over. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Violence

sweeettea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Classism, Xenophobia, War, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, Transphobia, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world fortunately proves to be a better elif shafak read for me than my previous, thwarted effort. this book is abt those on the fringes of society, but also abt istanbul and turkey at large. 

aided by an interesting, intriguing structure, the novel's first part reads like snapshots from the main character leila's life. while initially very slow going - the pace making me actually put down the book for 2 weeks - things start to pick up once we get out of leila's hometown, leila thrusted into the wider world - for better and for worse - while also gradually learning abt the five friends she so treasures.

i rly enjoy reading abt istanbul thru the POVs of characters marginalized by society, seeing the city thru a different, less sanitized perspective, yet a sense of love for the city, interestingly, still pervades. shafak spotlights those rarely seen or heard in the mainstream, let alone humanely, in this novel, be it those who are turkish and arent, esp the more recent and pressing refugees. the book's period of upheaval also serves as a revealing, rollicking - though at times painful - historical archive. 

what i love most abt this book is perhaps the relationship between leila and her 5 friends, both individually and as a group. theirs is  a bond deeper and closer than those of their respectively wretched families, and it's surprisingly touching. in a society that shuns them and wrongs go unpunished, they band tgt to survive, find joy and stand up for themselves. 

this is an enjoyable book thats as much abt the characters as the city of istanbul they live in, in all its glory and misery. though i personally think there's too much exposition, some parts could be trimmed, and the initial pace too slow, i dont merely feel but also learn a lot from this book, and thats always a good reading experience in my book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death, Transphobia, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity

manasvini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

3.75

What I liked:
The concept, the narrative, the cast of diverse characters and stories, the vivid and immersive descriptions of Istanbul

What I disliked:
The sheer amount of trauma, which almost started feeling like sensationalism, especially when accompanied with little to no reflection on it. (I wish I had read the trigger warnings before hand.) How much the first part slogged in comparison to the second and third parts. 

It was a good read but does not make me motivated to read other works by Shafak.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Car accident, Cursing, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Torture