Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

La Policía de la Memoria by Yōko Ogawa

32 reviews

tiennguyen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Police brutality, and Death

Minor: Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

lydiabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Death, and Death of parent

darbo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

"I don't know. Maybe there's a place out there where people whose hearts aren't empty can go on living."

The book has a slow start, and it may feel slow all throughout for some due to its mundane, everyday tasks, but it picks up eventually and just leaves you baffled and shocked at every turn. Especially so the ending. I truly love this and wholeheartedly recommend this to any dystopia and Orwell fans out there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, and Death

solitary's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Police brutality, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

jaceydemaree's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Police brutality

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

kmcdonell's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Very beautiful and precise writing, and had clearly been translated very well. But a bit too subtle and abstract for me, the end took such bizarre turns I wasn't sure what to make of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

nila's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.75

My feelings on the book hasn't quite landed yet. On one hand, it's an original and interesting story, but on the other hand there's a vagueness to the plot that I'm not sure I like... The whole book is beautifully written as well, so it's still a joy to read it, but I just wanted more answers 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual content

perfectplaces's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

“What’s gone is gone completely. I have no seeds inside me, waiting to sprout again. I have to make do with a hollow heart full of holes.”

-

i really loved this! it was so thought provoking and also subtly horrifying. 

the tone is absolutely excellent; it eases you into the world of the novel and the life of the main character and then so suddenly pulls the rug from underneath you again and again. i also really loved the story-within-a-story, though that’s where most of the triggering content is so it’s definitely skippable. 

either way i felt it was a rly good and compelling take on the dystopian genre. i saw ppl in the reviews saying they felt it was unrealistic how passive the people of the protagonist’s island were, but i felt that ogawa’s approach was both compelling and arguably more realistic; much more so imo than the idea that people would largely fight back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Police brutality

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death

Minor: Emotional abuse

Many of the triggers (toxic relationship, emotional abuse) take place in the story-within-a-story. These have a different font (in the printed version at least) and are easy to skip without losing anything of the main story as they serve a largely symbolic role.

samuelh2020's review against another edition

mysterious reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse

aargot1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, and Emotional abuse