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Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Murder
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion
Graphic: Blood, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Abortion
Minor: Suicide
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy
There was much about this book that was hard to read. The topics are heavy. While there are moments of happiness, joy, and a lot of love, the bulk of this book is overall a deeply sad story for almost everyone in it. There is no fairy tale happily ever after here. Early in the story, it felt a bit hard to follow, in part because the characters were in confusing situations and in part because the writing was almost too descriptive and filled with too many beautifully lyrical metaphors and imagery. In the middle, the story is deeply sad and was hard to continue reading at times, but that I was so invested in finding the same truth they were seeking. My heart hurt and the story lingered with me even when I wasn't reading. I felt the despair and hopelessness of each of the characters in their own journeys, but I couldn't put it down. Once pieces starting coming together and as the end of multiple characters' stories came together, I was afraid of the potentially devastating ending.
And in the end, I was in fact devastated by this book, entirely and completely.
This writing style is not for everyone. Go into this book not only heeding the trigger warnings (and there are quite a few), but understanding that this is a literary saga that spans nearly 30 years. This is not an action adventure. The prose is wordy. The pace is slow. And my one actual complaint is that with so many characters moving in so many different places and directions, the switch of perspective between chapters was often confusing because I didn't know exactly who I was with until the name was mentioned a few sentences in or I pieced it together from context clues. But with all of that said, this is a beautifully written and powerful story.
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Murder
Minor: Incest
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Murder
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Murder