Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

10 reviews

sestout's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Sexual content, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, War, and Police brutality

addie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Racism

fynn_jls's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Suicide

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-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 thought this was just phenomenal. both storylines interested me and i felt so so much for the characters. this broke my heart but also put it together. this was devastating but beautiful.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Hate crime, Death, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcoholism

samarakroeger's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

it took me a minute to become ensconced in the story and then I couldn't put it down.  I stayed up until 2 AM crocheting and listening to this audiobook get sadder and sadder and before I knew it, the book was over.  this is one I need to sit with for a bit, but color me impressed.

if you liked Still Life by Sarah Winman, you'll love this.  very similar books in many ways (with different settings and plots, obviously).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Medical content, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

cady_sass's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

I am absolutely floored that there aren’t more people (at least in my universe) talking about this book. I am in AWE. What a stunningly heartbreaking story. I loved every part of this, even the parts that brought tears to my eyes. It will weigh on your heart, on your soul, and live in your mind. When I wasn’t reading all i wanted to do was pick it back up. Even though it’s an inherently sad story, and you know that no matter what it’s going to be sad at the end, you still kind of hope for the happy ending you know you won’t get. There are what feels like a million characters and somehow I cared about all of them, even the ones I hated. Everyone in world should read this and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Death, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcoholism, Classism, Homophobia, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

sheshallbenamed's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Infidelity, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide, Hate crime, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: War

scarlett4's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Cursing, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition

5.0

Ooooooof this book is so compelling and absolutely heartbreaking all at the same time. It's two timelines, popping back and forth, intertwined - the present, and Chicago in the 80s. Makkai figures out how to reveal things in the right order, despite the timeline changes, and make it all feel so natural. I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody - except those who had to live through this particular time in history - it's about a friend group made up of mostly gay men living through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. And by "had to live through this time," I don't mean those who were merely alive at the time it happened. I mean those who were IN it, and anyone who has lived as gay man in the years since. It's beyond tragic how many lives were lost, and how many ways these men were made to feel like garbage. I lived in this time, as a child, in the 80s. I vaguely knew some about AIDS at the time. This book hooked me from the start with great storytelling, and really opened my eyes to the details of day to day life and death (although that's not the only topic it covers).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Alcoholism, Bullying, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Self harm, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcohol

gagne's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, Homophobia, Grief, Excrement, Cursing, Blood, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy