Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

4 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

 Really, truly, spectacular. This is such a beautiful interwoven story spun across multiple lifetimes. It was delightful to see how each life connected with the other. Each character feels tangible and real, they all have so much depth and personality. Each plot-line is gripping and it is impossible to not feel for the characters. Seymour especially, I think, is beautifully written. His mental illness is incredibly accurately done, and he is never once demonized for it. Each character, despite their actions, kind or otherwise, is written and treated with respect and empathy. It's such a beautiful tale of humanity and kindness and struggle, and all of it is portrayed with such well researched nuance and intelligence. Definitely one of the best books if you want to feel something that is neither fully happy nor sad, but a cathartic combination of both. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Violence, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Death of parent, War, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Torture

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Classism, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Slavery, Alcohol, Dementia, Drug use, and Excrement

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Bullying, Violence, War, and Animal death

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Murder and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

leahrosiee's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective 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

4.5

This is a story about amazement, literacy, time, and memory. Five characters show how stories are passed along through time. How a book, in their case the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land, can hold someone together through all the shit life is putting them through and connect them to people they will never know across the world and throughout time. 
Each character has so much in common despite such vastly different circumstances. 

I found myself more drawn to certain storylines than others, which made it a little slow. Anthony Doerr really said “I could go into heavy detail, and I will, I will go into heavy detail”. I cannot tell you how many pages were dedicated to two of the characters waiting for a war to begin. 
Despite that, there is no denying how expertly the author weaves stories together and what an incredible book this is. 
So …. I don’t know what to think. But I think I love it. 

Side note: if you aren’t already outraged by how little our society values librarians, this book will help solidify that for you, I promise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Slavery, War, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Murder

evanmcomer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

This is a book that is hard to classify. Is it literary fiction? Historical fiction? Science fiction? All three? Regardless of what you call it, the characters are richly written, and the three stories are each compelling in their own right. This is a 600 page book that, at times, reads like a thriller. About two-thirds of the way through, I learned something that made me want to cry. And at the end, I found myself wanting to hug this book and read it again. The central theme is so brilliantly summed up by this line: “The world as it is is enough.” This is probably the easiest five-star review I’ve given all year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, and War