Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

25 reviews

nimeneth's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.0

This is one of those books that I don't even think I can explain why I liked it. It was grim, and dark, and unsettling for the middle half, and yet it was fantastic at the same time. Maybe it's that it's almost madness given form. Maybe it's that Arden didn't shy away from just how ugly war can be, but did it in such a way that it didn't make it unpalatable, just stark and inescapable. Whatever it was, once Laura got to France I couldn't put it down and wound up plowing through the bulk of this in an afternoon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

wayward_flowers's review against another edition

It's been over a month since I've been trying to drag myself through this book. And I've found myself not wanting to continue, though It isn't the book's fault.
Of course based on the premise you can tell that this won't be an easy read. It's gloomy and rather..perturbing in some ways aswell as enlightening. 
However I didn't feel connected with the story nor the characters.
Plus for me life had gotten in the way which contributed a lot to my lack of enjoyment.

Pherhaps I'll pick it up again some day but just not now..

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Grief

Moderate: Medical trauma and Panic attacks/disorders

kirtreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.75

This book took me over two months to read because it is raw, emotional, dark, and does not throw punches. I had to listen in bits and then process and then come back. I can understand why the author calls this “the fiend”. I normally hate war fiction but this felt so raw and real, and I actually cared about the characters. 

This novel isn’t sad for the sake of being sad. I think Kathrine Arden actually does a great job of capturing the inexplicable and crazy hope that people can have in their darkest moments. However, it still is dark. The ending will crush you, but it is so worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

courtknee_bee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

5 stars

A phenomenal, awe-inspiring book. Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale] trilogy is one of my favorites, so I had very high expectations for The Warm Hands of Ghosts. This is much a different novel: bleaker and sadder, as one might expect from a book about WWI. But there was so much hope, too. There are magical elements, Paradise Lost allegories, and maybe even some references to the Bear trilogy if you squint. 

This isn't exactly an escapism book, but the story is so moving. There's hints of romance, but this book is about familial love at its core. I loved it. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Terminal illness, Vomit, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Deportation, and Sexism

meg_turnsthepage's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide

readingonfordearlife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense 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: War, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness

bnashley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Using WWI and the Halifax Explosion of 1917 as a setting, The Warm Hands of Ghosts explored trauma, PTSD, grief, and the question of “self” through the lens of magical realism. 

The premise was interesting and well done, but it relied on some very common themes that made the book predictable/low stakes/thin. However, it was very touchingly written, and I cared a great deal about the characters, who were well done.

I did get the impression that the author had a much bigger story to tell but couldn’t quite incorporate everything into a cohesive narrative and pared the story down significantly. This was unfortunately very distracting because I kept imagining the missing pieces. 

I really enjoyed the care taken with the the setting. The historical setting and time-based language is accurate and detailed, and the author includes the kinds of little tidbits/trivia that make the setting feel alive. There were a few places where the prose got clunky/repetitive but it did not detract from the overall affect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Murder, Grief, Violence, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Addiction, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

lauriej's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Torture, War, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

lilyoliviareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

Wow this one broke me. The horrors of WW1 painted so viscerally, combined with the themes of humanity, perseverance and love, was just heart shattering. I'll be thinking about Freddie, Laura and Winter for a long time. 

Now I need a Novella of them all living happily ever after please and thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, and War