Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

23 reviews

jtemplin's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

CAWPILE Rating
Characters - 8
Atmosphere/Setting - 8
Writing Style - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic/Relationships - 7
Enjoyment - 8
- 
Average - 7.71428571428572

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Gore, Police brutality, Grief, Xenophobia, Child death, Cursing, and Racism

Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Child death, and Toxic relationship

laurenexploresbooks's review

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

This work is such a powerful story of family, choices we make, and the decisions related to legacy and future generations. A challenging, powerful, and compelling story about learning what a good life means. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Racism

randi_jo's review

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

I am bereft. I was expecting a lot of western shoot-outs, bandido adventures and debauchery, and more magical elements, but instead was served some heart achingly tragic morality tale about the nature of humans and their ability to become something new, old, good, or evil. The magical realism is subtle in this, even though it seems to start out strong in the prologue, but it boils down to the physical embodiment of a generational curse and its dissolution. 

Godspeed, Peter Ainsley. I wish we had known you longer.

A TW I think might be very important for some people:

There is quite a bit of child death and the mourning over killed children in this one. It hits hard though and is treated like the deplorable act that it is.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, and Death

Minor: Rape and Racial slurs

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Colonisation, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Hate crime, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Rape, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

itshrewsbury's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death and Suicide

Minor: Drug use and Child death

savvylit's review

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

This Western epic blends historical fiction and magical realism. Gonzalez James creates an incredibly cinematic plot: the places, the larger-than-life characters, the chase scenes, the shootouts... This book would make an excellent movie. That being said, the focus on the plot means that there was not nearly enough character development for my taste. I left The Bullet Swallower feeling as though I only got to know each character on a surface level. However, if you love Westerns and plot-heavy storytelling, you will love this book.

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the advance reader copy of The Bullet Swallower in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, and Grief

seasonedreadings's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Torture

Minor: Child death

ginabelle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

I think I was hoping for more magical realism aspects and less religion but I admire how this book grappled with the question of how to grapple and take responsibility for the sins of the past. It was missing something for me, but I can’t put my finger on it right now…but it was overall good!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Violence, Colonisation, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Child death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture

nehaanna's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

A fantastic quick read that blurs the lines of reality and fantasy in the similar vein of many  authors such as Gabriel García Márquez. The story is frightfully real, and the illusions it weaves are as skillful as any magician casting a spell. There is relief as a decades long battle with humanity’s streak of goodness against a backdrop of evil culminates after a 68 year long penance. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Murder, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, Genocide, Hate crime, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy

lvleggett's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia, Violence, Islamophobia, Death, Murder, Grief, Racism, and Gun violence