Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O'Donoghue

4 reviews

shelbygibbs's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Loved this! Gripped me throughout, really satisfying ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Colonisation, Cancer, Murder, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Slavery, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse

thewoodlandbookshelf's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Child death, Violence, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Rape and War

readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This has been on my radar since last summer when I saw it at YALC, so when I noticed that the audiobook was on Scribd, I thought I'd give it a go. And it was a really engaging, funny, and yet also heart-wrenching novel. I liked Charlie as a character, even though she was unreliable and disorganised at times. I always appreciate characters whose self-awareness increases as the novel progresses, and I liked this aspect of Charlie; she realises that she's been selfish and flighty at times, as well as bitter over Laura's successes and has, on a number of occasions, made excuses for her lack of ambition and career progress. 

I enjoyed the thought-provoking exploration of her friendship with Laura and I thought the way Laura changed over the years (especially after she found out that Charlie is a lesbian) was very realistic to real life. The critique of casual homophobia was very validating and the way the mystery unraveled kept me hooked. The final chapter was melancholic (as expected) and yet also hopeful for a brighter future, and I thought the author struck a really good balance between the two emotions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Death

Minor: Violence, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

nickc777's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

“Who could ever burn this?”

A brilliant example of a book that gets better as it goes on. 

From the drive to Clipim, the novel was gripping, exciting and built tension and pace so well. The depiction of small town atmosphere, trauma and queer identity enthralled and I wouldn’t have thought about putting it down.

The first third however I found a little dull and as I read it seemed that this section was considered by writer or editor as necessary exposition rather than a gripping section of the novel. If this section was simply cut entirely, it would be five stars without a doubt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence