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kmacdo23's review
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
lizzie24601's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, War, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Animal death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Murder
shimikonde's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Gaslighting
Starvation as a result of war is also described in significant detail.abominablesnowaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, War, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Starvationthewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
1.0
however, i personally feel that this focus on hammering home the themes might have taken a toll on the story and its ~purely story~ aspect. the book's jam-packed w/ themes and while it's indeed--as a review puts it--bold and subversive, it's also confusing and somehow confoundingly lacking. while marya and koschei def deals w/ themes of love and power, i feel that their scope of story is not expansive enough to deal w/ life and death. the story's partly set in russia during world war ii, led by characters who fight decades long battles, yet a majority of it reads like a domestic drama of an open relationship. i wouldve liked more depiction of the gap between the end of part 2 and start of part 3: what was koschei and marya's relationship like during at least some of the interim 13 yrs? how was marya during her first few battles? a lot went into the start of the leads' relationship, but not enough was illustrated of its everyday meat and subtance. it just feels like a good chunk of the book shows things after they happen, and the few action it shows is not very substantial.
also i dont truly like any of the characters?? not asking for black-and-white characters who are all good or bad, but somehow they're all at least a lil unlikable lol. and after a winding path towards the end, i dont even rly get the ending either, and idk if it's bc im too dumb to understand or if the msg's too obfuscated at that point. this had a lot more potential and im just very sad that it wasnt explored.
Graphic: War, Death, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Stalking, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Kidnapping
korpney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood and Child death
untraveledworld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, War, Violence, and Infidelity