Reviews tagging 'Death'

O Grande Círculo by Maggie Shipstead

71 reviews

toothpastefairy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Screaming, crying, and throwing-up throughout. 

Marian is someone who you desperately want to hug and throttle at the same time. Devastating and heartwarming, the novel's end is poignantly built in a way you could not predict from the start. Each character is crafted with care and depth, their lives reach across the pages to brush each other and arrest the reader's heart. 

Overall, brutal and tender.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abortion, Violence, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Rape, War, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Gun violence

jazhandz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, War, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Dementia, and Hate crime

rosie_b's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a tricky book to review because I enjoyed the second half but the first half was SO slow and meandered aimlessly. I almost gave up on it a few times but kept reading because another review on here said the ending was satisfying, and it was. I think I’d have enjoyed the book more if the first half had been condensed.

Additionally, I found the grooming storyline really hard to keep reading.

 
Check out the content warnings because there’s a lot, and the first half especially contains some hard to read stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abortion, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Mental illness

karenmsecrest's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

5.0

A sweeping epic spanning generations written in lyrical prose. Themes of connection, isolation, triumph, loss, trauma, and victory. 

At the core is the story of a girl growing up in prohibition-era Montana desperate to become an aviatrix, and the actress who will play her on film 90 years later. Without giving any spoilers, there is a LOT of trauma in this story, as with any story set during depression, prohibition, WWII, etc. The way the disparate lives are woven together is stunning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Rape, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, Child death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Child abuse

anniesher23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Marian’s story was so rich and captivating. I would have cut Hadley’s perspective though, I found it entirely unnecessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, and War

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Abortion

booksandmo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Pedophilia, Gore, and Death

Minor: Abortion

littlefish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, War, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Abortion, Child death, and Sexual assault

Minor: Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Homophobia

maryclaire92's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Reading this started as a marathon, but finished in a sprint! I enjoyed learning every little tidbit I could from every scrap of text about Marion. The switches in POV and time kept the story fresh and added to the momentum for me. I found myself the least interested in the modern actress Hadley who is portraying Marion in a film, but loved the way that she was tied in more meaningfully towards the end and couldn’t put the book down for the last 150 pages or so. 

If I’m being honest, it dragged at times for me, but that can also be attributed to me reading it towards the end of this semester of grad school. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Rape, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Homophobia, and Misogyny

sophiegs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Abortion and Grief

wordsofclover's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Addiction, and Death