Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

La Policía de la Memoria by Yōko Ogawa

28 reviews

malachinelson's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Damn. This was a read. It captured me. I was hoping for and terrified by the possibility of it ending. 267 pages later I closed the book.  I'll be thinking about this one, and revisiting it, often.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Body horror, Slavery, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

junheechuu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ollie_again's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

bill369's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I heard good things about this book. That's why I read it.

I like Grandpa because he was always there for the main character and seems like he's trying his best.

From time to time, certain thing ceases to exist. Everyone except a few forget it ever existed. Those few people are at risk and mustn't let themselves get discovered to stay safe. I find this concept amusing. Yet I was pretty bored while reading. There were better parts, but I expected more.

I don't want to share any lines.

The end was well-made.

I could go without reading this book. I wouldn't want to immerse myself into the story again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Confinement

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

falltumn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Body horror and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy and Toxic relationship

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

tomasalbanez's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

A bit too devastating to be read on covid times, but a really interesting look into what makes us go on or not.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship

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

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.