Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

97 reviews

corrin_takara's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

At times was a struggle to read partly because of the slow pace as well as a long list of possible triggering topics which lead to hard to read passages. Picked up towards the end and grabbed my attention with a satisfying twist 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexism, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Death, War, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Rape, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Dementia

readandfindout's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 3 stars
Characters: 2 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Police brutality, Blood, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Torture, Physical abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia, Confinement, Incest, War, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent and Excrement

seforana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abortion, Blood, Death, War, Incest, Body horror, Violence, Infertility, and Torture

mariebrie's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Violence, and Death

nathalieisg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Very intriguing. This book has been the first to throw curveballs at me Ina while and kept me guessing at what was real, who was who and how it would end throughout the whole story. I also particularly loved the European setting and writing style - refreshing after reading mostly American novels all year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Murder

juniperbranches's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

I finished this gorgeous novel set in Barcelona in the 50’s on our last day here in Barcelona. It’s a gothic mystery about an author’s novels being systemically eradicated. It’s a gorgeous portrait of the city and the authors prose is so incredibly beautiful that he had me in tears twice before page 15. I loved this so so much

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Torture, and War

jessamine864's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Pregnancy

cass_lit's review against another edition

4.0

I think I overhyped this in my head, unfortunately. While it’s still a 4⭐️ primarily because of the feat it is to write so many plot lines and books within books, my enjoyment during it was just *fine.* One thing that kept coming back to irk me were the romantic relationships — I didn’t buy into any of them enough for how much they completely controlled where this story went. I know Daniel started out young in the beginning of the book, but even towards the end, I can’t tell you how many times I rolled my eyes at him. As Isaac Monfort says, Daniel is an idiot for most of this long book. 

For all of my complaints, however, I was still impressed by this. I loved the writing style, the discussions on books and what they mean to each person, and the stories within stories within stories. After the first few chapters, I wondered how everything would come together without it feeling almost too fantastical. But it did. And the last ~10% or so when everything came out / came together? I literally gasped at 👀that👀 reveal. 

Also — the audiobook is great! There are fun little interludes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Police brutality

Moderate: Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Rape, Abortion, Bullying, and Hate crime

Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, and Homophobia

vilde_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

It took a couple of chapters getting into it, but in return, there were several chapters I just had to complete no matter time or place. If you like books about books, you’ll love this!

Read while listening to “Øyeblikke Vi Husker” by Hvalfugl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Police brutality, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Domestic abuse, and War

Minor: Excrement, Incest, Suicide, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment

prawdziwki's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Carlos Ruiz Zafón you will always be famous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Incest

Moderate: Misogyny, War, and Racism