Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

La anomalía by Hervé Le Tellier

27 reviews

vbigv's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I think I was a bit disappointed with the length of this book - It's quite short and it feels like all the characters could have an entire 300 pages dedicated to their story so getting so little on each character and on the main event that changes their lives is a bit frustrating, but I understand this is also a decision from the author.
A nice quick science-fiction piece that will make you think all the while entertaining you. Worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pedophilia, Hate crime, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, and Homophobia

lemonflower's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, and Cancer

Minor: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

parablesarah's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

It really is as good as they say.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Homophobia, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Hate crime, Suicide, and Incest

quotes_with_a_quill's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

This book is not one I would have chosen, but one that will stay with me. One of the few I will order for my shelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

The (s)child abuse is description brief and not graphically written. The scene is implicitly implied without graphic description- ie disassociation. Again brief. From someone whom experienced nearly a replica of the characters it was triggering and yet validating to a degree. It is an accurate portrait of disassociation. It’s brevity is unlikely to trigger those who do not have a history of this, though that is speculative. I would not have read this book had I known it was in here, but I will reread it even though I know it is there. I only listened to the audiobook, but when I receive my print copy I will update this with page number. It is truly a paragraph of disassociation and the only one that was personally triggering to me. ( I wish I could leave an emoji of hearts and hugs if you’ve had this experience. Just know this is written w that in mind.)

lyko100's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

First of all, this book has some triggers in it so it may not be for everyone and I’ll try to list those triggers in this comment - without spoilers. 

At the beginning we learn about various characters who are of different age and each of them with a completely different story. We somewhat get to know them, see their flaws and later in the book we observe how those characters change and adapt to weird and indescribable circumstances. We see the characters observe their own behavior in a analytical type of way, and change their own behavior based on what they saw. 

The book touches various topics: from child harassment, through homosexuality in orthodox parts of Africa to metaphysical existential debate. 

Hard to say more about it without spoiling anything, overall a very good book with a rather predictable ending - hence 4/5. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

astridrv's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Blood, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Homophobia, Incest, Grief, and Death

Very well paced book, that I read easily over 24 hours. The first part of the book was in my eyes really successful in creating believable characters and an intriguing set-up. The other two thirds delivered, but delivered an average book, pleasant, gripping enough, ultimately forgettable. I think the author had a lot of fun writing this and also had a heart break to process. Both make for a charming book that does not reach as deep as the premise and ambition (visible in the endless philosophical references) would lead you to believe.

toquee_de_litterature's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

L'histoire est assez simple: un avion et ses 200 et quelques passagers atterrit à New York en mars 2021. Ce même avion, avec les mêmes passagers, atterrit de nouveau en juin. Cet évènement perturbe et bouleverse non seulement les passagers, qui devront éventuellement faire face à leur double, mais aussi le monde entier. 

Le roman commence par l'introduction et présentation de onze personnages passagers de ce vol Paris/New York, que nous suivrons en alternance tout au long du roman. Chaque chapitre porte sur un personnage différent et s'incrit dans un genre littéraire distinct. Nous avons le roman noir avec son tueur à gages, le roman sentimental où un homme tente désespérément de s'accrocher à une femme qui lui glisse lentement entre les doigts, le roman 'drame familial' dans lequel une mère de famille réalise petit à petit que son mari n'est pas celui qu'elle pensait. Le tout est ancré dans un roman d'anticipation/de science-fiction. 

Un roman mélangeant autant de genres aurait été intéressant si ce n'était du fait que l'auteur ne fait que survoler chacun de ces genres sans jamais réussir totalement à tirer le meilleur de chacun. On voit clairement que Le Tellier ne les maîtrise pas tous, ce qui rendait parfois la qualité de la lecture inégale. 

Suite à la découverte de ce second vol, le monde tente d'expliquer ce phénomène inexplicable. Est-ce un acte de Dieu? Une expérience scientifique qui a mal tourné? Les extra-terrestres sont-ils derrière tout ça? On explore différentes théories alors que le monde commence à se diviser: ceux qui crient 'abomination!' et ceux qui accueillent les doubles à bras ouverts. 

Je pense que Le Tellier savait exactement quoi écrire, et comment l'écrire, pour gagner le grand public. C'est un "page-turner" qui fait énormément appel à la culture populaire et au 'name-dropping'. Ça ne m'a personnellement pas dérangée, mais je m'étonne que "L'Anomalie" ait gagné le Goncourt l'année dernière. C'est loin d'être un chef-d'oeuvre littéraire. C'est un roman que plusieurs qualifient de sympathique et je pense que c'est un terme approprié. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Terminal illness