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Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'
Os Luminares by Ana Falcão Bastos, Eleanor Catton, Cláudia Brito
2 reviews
eefmaoam's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I claimed to have read this book when I was a teenager, trying to be pretentious and well-read. I certainly didn’t as I remembered exactly nothing, not the plot or any of the characters, while reading it. But I’m *so* happy I didn’t read it back then, so I could enjoy it for the first time now, some years later.
This book was right up my alley, even though I wouldn’t have suspected it to be based on the genre/themes/descriptions. I love the way the story slowly unfolds, constantly switching perspectives, all the while being meta-critical of the genre itself AND the (developing) economic systems and its exploits (Yes, I wanted to be a pretentious teen while I wasn’t, but somehow still ended up becoming an adult who loves pretentious literature lol). The historical touches such as censoring some words, while using ‘whoring’ freely adds to the atmosphere and moody feel (haha, funny reference, so smart).
While reading I kept on whisking but also dreading Netflix would make this book into a limited-series; hoping because I wanted to see the world of Hokitika and all its residence and their stories come to life, dreading because I don’t think Netflix would or could do right by this beautiful story. Turns out the BBC did, so I’m off to watch that show!
I want to make more poignant points about the book and why you should read it, but I’m still a little bit too overwhelmed by the magnitude and beauty of this story. So, you should just read it yourselves if you want to know why I liked it so much ;)
This book was right up my alley, even though I wouldn’t have suspected it to be based on the genre/themes/descriptions. I love the way the story slowly unfolds, constantly switching perspectives, all the while being meta-critical of the genre itself AND the (developing) economic systems and its exploits (Yes, I wanted to be a pretentious teen while I wasn’t, but somehow still ended up becoming an adult who loves pretentious literature lol). The historical touches such as censoring some words, while using ‘whoring’ freely adds to the atmosphere and moody feel (haha, funny reference, so smart).
While reading I kept on whisking but also dreading Netflix would make this book into a limited-series; hoping because I wanted to see the world of Hokitika and all its residence and their stories come to life, dreading because I don’t think Netflix would or could do right by this beautiful story. Turns out the BBC did, so I’m off to watch that show!
I want to make more poignant points about the book and why you should read it, but I’m still a little bit too overwhelmed by the magnitude and beauty of this story. So, you should just read it yourselves if you want to know why I liked it so much ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, and Colonisation
shayminxcx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
I thought it was really really good and enjoyed reading it immensely. However… a few things in the last parts could have been expanded on further and there’s a cast of over 15 people and not one of them was even a bit fruity? Also I didn’t feel like Moody’s story was tied up as well as it could’ve been. Still was a great book, challenging but enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Addiction, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Antisemitism, Violence, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Suicide attempt
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