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venice_the_vampire's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
erebus53's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Werner is a snow-haired German lad who was orphanned by the mines of the Reich. As a curious child he develops himself into an electrical engineer who specializes in fixing radios, and is noticed by a German general who forwards him for advancement in an elite military school.
Marie-Laure is the daughter of keymaster of the French museum. She develops cataracts and goes blind as a child, and her father crates a scale model of her neighbourhood as a tactile map for her to learn her way around.
When the war starts, Marie-Laure and her father flee to her uncle's house, and Werner is a radio engineer for Hitler's army.
This story is told with deep emotional resonance, and using all sorts of literary quirks that focus on themes of light and darkness, sounds, sensation, fear and bravery, morality, logic and puzzles, knowing and learning, art and music, the love of nature, and of people. I love the descriptions of things like disappearing in fog– that it's about vanishing into whiteness rather than shadows. The descriptions are visceral and evocative as well as clever.
This is a story of survival, of war, of fear and bloodshed, and it doesn't pull its punches. It certainly answers, in a humane way, questions about how people can do inhuman things in war, and the toll it can take on families.
I found the going slow, and occasionally tense, but also full of whimsy and beauty in contrast.
Well worth the read.
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
lwelch94's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
zosiablue's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Dementia, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief
denlia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape
annahnoyes's review against another edition
- 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
This a 5 star read that reads as beautifully and vividly as a book possibly can.
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Hate crime and Rape
beachbookbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence and Hate crime
elizapease's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Grief, and War
Moderate: Rape and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
katerinakr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Antisemitism, and Medical trauma
vas_17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail