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lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Abortion and Domestic abuse
minxtte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity
veronicachp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The male lead, Esteban, is revealed to be a /bad/ man within the first 100 pages and a shallow summary of this book is him doing /bad/ things for almost 500 pages while everyone else just kind of shrugs and lets him get away with it. And I understand that it's meant to be a broad overarching story about him digging his own grave, but even in the climax, it's not Esteban who truly faces the consequences of his actions, but his poor granddaughter, Alba. His taking what happens to her so personally is just another way he assumes ownership of every single other character in the novel, particularly the female ones. They're reduced to hollow, often infantilized shells of people who float along seemingly indifferent to all the bad things he's done, silently bearing whatever punishment he chooses to award. I struggle to real stories where people could leave their abusive relatives and decaying homes but choose not to for reasons that are never really explained, and this story falls pretty solidly into those margins.
Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Death, Rape, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Vomit
wannieh's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Animal death, Death of parent, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Police brutality
Minor: Car accident
kmaller's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Throughout the text, Allende presentsaa canny understanding of the corruption of the capitalist class and of the ways in which legitimately elected socialist governments are undermined (creating false scarcity, etc). The question of non-violent resistance is repeatedly raised, with varied answers which I respect.
I was surprised by the seeming nihilism of the epilogue compared to the tone of the rest of the book, but it also seems to reinforce one of the underlying threads of the book, that individual rage is ineffective without collective action.
Graphic: Rape, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
emilyclairem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Rape and Torture
joneva's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
kimberlybetweenstanzas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Racial slurs
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
thelibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexism
Moderate: Pedophilia