Reviews tagging 'Death'

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

43 reviews

emotionalsupportblonde's review

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.75

A reflection on love and loss in a time of great turmoil, Trespasses left me feeling emotionally spent in a delicious and painful way. To reflect on the decisions we've made  – the power of a coincidence, a single moment in time – and to wonder what if, what if, what if...Trespasses captures the energy of a disjointed remembrance of a woman who lived and loved throughout one of modern times' greatest (and oft-forgotten) tragedies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Death, Violence, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

thetiniestbookclub's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

5.0

„Übertretung“ von Louise Kennedy, in einer Übersetzung aus dem Englischen von Claudia Glenewinkel und Hans-Christian Oeser im Steidl Verlag erschienen, wäre mir trotz des großartigen Covers wahrscheinlich durch die Lappen gegangen, wenn meine Kollegin nicht so voll des Lobes für diesen Debütroman gewesen wäre. Und was soll ich sagen? Absolut lesenswerte „Anti-Liebesgeschichte“. 

Louise Kennedy macht schon im Prolog deutlich, dass hier kein Happy End zu erwarten ist. Und dieses Wissen im Hinterkopf färbt den gesamten Roman, wie der nordirische Konflikt alle Beziehungen zwischen jenen färbt, die mit ihm leben (müssen). Nie ist die Liebesgeschichte zwischen der jungen, katholischen Lehrerin Cushla und dem deutlich älteren, verheirateten, protestantischen Prozessanwalt Michael rührselig oder kitschig. Kennedy schreibt schmucklos und klar von zwei nicht perfekten, mitfühlenden Menschen, die alles in ihrer Macht stehende tun, um dem Terror ihrer Umgebung mit Fürsorge zu begegnen und doch Religion, Nationalismus, Hass und Gewalt nur wenige Stunden abringen können. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, Gun violence, Death, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

caitlin_123a's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, and War

Minor: Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Blood

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Classism, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Addiction, Violence, and War

itsnotsarah's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The overall tone of this book is very depressing, which is not really surprising given the topic, but I would still advise against reading this book if you are currently not feeling so well already or if something traumatic has happened to you recently. Chances are pretty high that this one would make it worse (it did for me). 
The heavy drinking and alcoholism of many characters was very triggering for me, but I had to read this book for one of my university classes. I think it is a good book, if you want to know what it felt like living in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, but otherwise just depressing and uncomfortable to read. 
The main relationship also comes out of nowhere and he is double her age, which is not necessarily bad, but I personally didn’t like it. Especially since it’s also

an affair

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Death

Minor: Miscarriage

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Murder

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one didn't upend my brain, but I liked it. I think it's an interesting look at survival during basically wartime. Everyone has to keep moving, but it also feels impossible to do so. I didn't love Cushla, but I don't think I had to, and maybe it created a nice separation to be able to look at the whole story. I DID love the precious little boy at school. And I do tend to like a little forbidden romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Stalking

marenvgl's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Police brutality, and Alcoholism

zosiablue's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was one of those lovely surprises I put on hold 6 months ago & don't remember why, but I'm glad. It's a perfect slice in time (Ireland in the '70s), incredibly sexy and coming of age until it hits you that coming of age during The Troubles meant all that normal teenage fucking around had bigger implications. I got to one part towards the end and burst into tears because I should have seen it coming, the book warned me in a thousand ways, but the author's writing was so lush and cozy and subtle that I got complacent. Really beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, War, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Infidelity, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, and Murder

doireann_ni_chaoimh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Bullying, Alcoholism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death of parent, Classism, Police brutality, Infertility, Hate crime, and Grief