Reviews tagging 'Death'

O Grande Círculo by Maggie Shipstead

71 reviews

eggpilot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism

kierstyn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.5

this book is poetry in the sense of words strung together beatifically but also in the sense of the expanse of a single human life and what we choose to make of it. 

this book captivated me, although i did find some parts a little slow and boring during the war; and the parts i wanted to be dug into the most were often glossed over. for example, Marian flying around the world was only in the last 60 pages or so when i expected it to be half the book worth. i also wished we got to see more emotion from Marian so we can connect with her more. i would have loved to see a deeper romance between her and Caleb, although i know that is not the point of the book. i also wish that Marian and Hadley's connection was deeper than it was with more of a shock factor. we do go into some parts of Hadley's life that are unnecessary, like the mushroom trip for example — i hated reading through that.

i have a discovery pilot flight tomorrow :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, War, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion

rhalpin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.5

Slow burn that felt hard to get through at times, though the writing was beautiful. Amazing ending made it worth sticking with it through the slowest parts.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Sexual assault

uhm_kai's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

tbh i really loved this book even tho i wouldn't have picked it myself

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, War, Rape, Pregnancy, Abortion, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Hate crime, Grief, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

alex_c's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Death

siobhann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, and Rape

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Biphobia, Violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Animal death

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Check the content warnings before you read this book.

Summarizing this book, or my feelings about it, in one tiny review seems impossible, as it's so big and complex. I'll try nonetheless.

There's the story of Marian Graves, who goes through trauma, multiple sexual awakenings, but stays constant nonetheless; a stubborn, boyish woman who loves to fly. There's the people who surround her, some of whom get their own stories - especially dear Jamie - some of them remain side characters to Marian's. 

Then there's the story of this actress - Hadley - who plays Marian in a movie, but also has problems of her own to deal with. Fame, grief, love, scandal, finding a goal in life (no one is as blessed as Marian, after all, with a life direction handed to her on a golden plate (or in an airplane)).

I thought it was interesting, to follow these lives, but I did find myself confused quite often. This because of multiple reasons: the massive amount of characters - their names, their varying agrees of importance to the story and how exactly were they connected to Marian again; the switching timelines, and the timejumps within those timelines; and the writing, which was beautiful, but sometimes unclear on whether it was being literal or figurative. 

Also unclear to me, was the meaning of this book. I'm inclined to say it was just a character study; a behind the scenes on these two women's lives and the extra mile they have to walk to achieve the same things a man can with half the effort, the trauma they have to go through, both emotionally and physically. But then why would you write this dual timeline, why not just focus on Marian, who was interesting enough on her own? Maybe it was a way of showing the discrepancies that can exist between a real life and the way outsiders view it. Oftentimes the script of the movie they're producing in modern times, doesn't rhyme with what actually happened. Take for example the (spoiler?) sapphic love affair Marian has with someone she meets during the war. Society is so eager to paint her as a straight woman that they choose to ignore this very real part of her. 

That does bring me to one critique, though: the only lesbian mentioned in this book gets killed off relatively quickly after we get to know her. I get that it was necessary to the ending of the book, but damn, it's 2022, we've had enough of seeing lesbians die in media. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, War, Grief, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia

Plane crashes and boat sinkings are discussed quite often, but in a non-grave way, except for in the beginning when the twins Jamie and Marian are rescued from a sinking ship. Also a sibling dies.

alomie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

So, I really loved the parts about Marian Graves from her perspective, but the Parts about Hadley really ruined this book for me and I would have rather not had the spoiler at the end and the epilogue I felt gave a neat ending but I think I would have liked not to know to be left with the option of deciding for myself. 

I really felt for Marian stuck in a time that was not ready for her. She was a trail blazer and although flawed she did all she could despite her circumstances to make her dreams a reality. 

Hadley on the other hand felt thin maybe vapid, and unable to make a good decision to save herself. She redeemed herself in the latter half of the book but by then I found I could not get behind her. 

Overall I liked this book and its worth a read but I really can't forgive half the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, Grief, and Death

anapthine's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, and Eating disorder

Minor: Murder, Antisemitism, and Gun violence