Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

7 reviews

marsmcel's review against another edition

adventurous reflective

4.5

This really was unlike anything I've read before in a lot of ways, and I can absolutely see why people rave about it. I was on track to give it 5 stars all the way until the last chapter, where the details about technological advancement felt very different from the rest of the book and pulled me out a bit. I think I would've been more open to that dystopian/tech discourse element had it been more present in other parts, but it just felt like a distinct shift that I didn't necessarily get/love. Still really enjoyed it though and left me with a lot to think about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Moderate: Murder and Genocide

autihd_elno's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

I enjoyed this book quite a lot until the final chapter. The constantly shift POV was interesting and overall I found it worked for me, there were only two or so chapters I found dragged relative to the rest of the book. The final chapter didn't ruin the book for me by any means, but something about the speculative fiction element of it didn't land well for me. Maybe it would have landed better in 2010, but I had trouble buying into the imagined future tech. I also didn't much like the character of

Alex,

and not so much in a like-ability way, I didn't necessarily "like" a good number of the POV characters in the book, but for whatever reason

Alex, or his story,

felt like a let down, or anti-climax for the end of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Mental illness, Racism, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infidelity, War, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Drug abuse

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

Interesting because it’s hard to say what I read. I think it was a collection of short stories tethered by a few reoccurring characters throughout the book. The timeline was all over the place, so it was hard to put a chronological order to the events. And the connections between characters and stories were sometimes only tenuous. Each story was almost self contained and complete otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Genocide

traa's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Suicide, Death, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Self harm, and Drug abuse

Minor: Medical content, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Racism, Genocide, and Homophobia

phantomgecko's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Not a novel exactly but not just a collection of short stories. Densely interconnected snippets of different lives. Each chapter is written in a unique style that tempts me to call it some sort of long form poetry. Styles that stuck out being the one with all (the parentheses), the one in second person, and the one that was a powerpoint.

I didn't really care for the people and what they were doing, but I enjoyed the circles and knots that wove them all together. Like, wow, all these terrible people really couldn't have done it by themselves. I need a bulletin board covered in pins and string to illustrate how wildly connected these stories all are. Especially the ones that seem out of place, like where the PR lady does business with a war criminal.

Again, not just short stories. Though some of the chapters could be interesting stand-alones, the effect of all of them together is just top notch.

Also, the peeking into the future was fascinating. A new baby boom. The devolution of language. Wild stuff.

So, in conclusion, I really really liked this book's structure and premise and details and styles. But I didn't care about the characters and what they did nor about the music/punk/art/drug scene prominent in most of the characters' lives.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, and Toxic relationship

fraise's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Eating disorder and Cancer

mayapetrick's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Genocide, and Sexual harassment