Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

19 reviews

dandelion_lea's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

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A book unlike any others I have read before. The characters were unique and realistic. The way the book was formatted really helped to absorb me into the story. A book I would recommend any adult reads

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Murder, Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Dysphoria

angorarabbit's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Two sections, the first is the memories of a woman living in Turkey, from birth to death. The second is the events that happen after. 

 

The characters are well developed and believable. Descriptions of places, food, and people are vivid. The writing is Booker worthy. It passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test. I really loved this book and don’t know what else to say. Just read it yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Minor: Grief

Graphic sex work.

myriambarriaultf's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol

danielledeal's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This was such a fascinating read, a perspective into found family and perseverance when it feels like the entire world is conspiring against you. At times the story mirrors itself, telling stories in chronological order and in roundabout ways at the same time. It was only towards the end that I realized

each section begins with the recollection of a scent or taste, which was how Leila and D/Ali spoke of them memories and experiences. Really powerful.

Definitely check the trigger warnings, there's a lot going on in the story of Leila and her friends. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence

Use of a few slurs, including one for Down Syndrome.

clusterf_cked's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

terppsi's review against another edition

4.25

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I really loved the first part, how the memories were evoked from smells and tastes.
Second part could have been shorter, that's the only reason I don't give it a 5.
Very curious about her other work

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Alcohol

daniellekat's review against another edition

3.75

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I loved part one (Mind) and thought this was on its way to 5 stars, but parts 2 (Body) and 3 (Soul) lost me. Shafak is a masterful writer and her descriptive style perfectly suits the novel's time and setting. My main criticism with this is the same for my last Shafak read (The Island of Missing Trees) - too much information is given to the reader. Especially in Part 2, there were too many perspectives and explicit details that I thought would have been more powerful left untold. I loved the found family aspect of this book and the way their grief manifested among them. I wish we were given more time with each of the friends but overall this was another well balanced blend of history and fiction. I highly recommend checking the content warnings on this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol

alex_wordweaver's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book was wonderful. So, so, so, soooo good. Beautiful book, wonderful cast of characters. Loved this book so much.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Violence

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Pedophilia, Violence

carolinebl's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I love how Elif Shafak writes of Istanbul, honestly and brutally whilst also lovingly. This is another complex, dark, funny and deeply human novel. The story of Tequila Leila deserves to be told, though in many ways this was the story of the people that formed her life. Some aspects of characterisation were too much for me, such as the names (Sabotage, Zaynab122 etc.) but it was overall a beautifully written story of friendship and struggle.

I still have questions about D/Ali. And did Leila know that Sabotage was in love with her? I’m glad he didn’t die with her body, but was forced to confront his divided life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Addiction, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders

libraryofconnor's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual assault