Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

O Grande Círculo by Maggie Shipstead

27 reviews

nicoleamanfu's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Addiction, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, War, Dysphoria, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gore, Sexism, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Hate crime

prettycloud's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

I kept catching myself wanting a movie of this book, even though I know book-movies are often disappointing, and indeed the book itself shows how much movies can miss. But this book is so visually beautiful, a delight for the mind's eye that draws from perspective characters' longings and aesthetic sensibilities to set its scenes. Though it is a long book, I never felt weighed down—when the plot doesn't move forward, the characters do, and this book is much about people's relationships to themselves and each other as it is about Graves attempting her "great circle." I liked the meditations on disappearance and death, on people's purpose in life and the interactions of chance and fate. This book has so much life in it, so much energy and realness and joy. And yet it also explores the legendary, and there is a pervading larger-than-life feeling even as we read about Marian's day-to-day life. It will be a while before I finish processing this one, because the questions it asks are woven so neatly into the story itself, but they're there. I guess, bottom-line, if you find yourself spending too long reading the Wikipedia articles of celebrities, this book might be for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, War, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Child death, Body shaming, and Fire/Fire injury

About the adult/minor relationship:

There's a pretty extensive section where Marian is a teenager in a relationship with a gangster in his late twenties and early thirties. She loves and desires him, but he stalks, extorts, and rapes her as he becomes more desperate to make her into the woman he wants.

The main themes of the book have to do with death and grief, so that and suicide by extension are very present throughout the book, though the deaths that happen are seldom described in great detail.

ladymirtazapine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

sjanke2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Biphobia, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, and Child death

booking_along's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

 i was born to be a wanderer. 

it’s a great epic story mostly about the life of a woman that didn’t just fit her time but also gender stereotypes, that wanted to be who she was but accepted that it would be easy for others. 

i think  this book would have been enough telling marians story without adding the drama of the actress into the story.
marians story is unique and strong and loud.

there wasn’t a need to add more or another loud voice into the mix.
it didn’t necessarily delude marians story but i also don’t think it added anything.

and since i already complaining: i think this book focused a little too much on sex in some scenes. and i didn’t see the need for that at all? 
i just don’t think all the mentions of sex was necessary especially the brutal scenes.
i get that sex apparently sells and it’s part of life but i don’t think it’s necessary to always describe it in every book. maybe just my opinion, but sometimes it’s not necessary to have all the details. 


beside those things the book was great!

i loved the passion and need the book really managed to show, the necessity that marian felt to fly, to go, to keep in the air and moving. 
but at the same time, that she clearly loved her bother and caleb and didn’t ever really to manage to actually leave them behind.

i loved the ending of the book,
i really enjoyed how it all connected together, from marians parents to her last flight.  

it’s a really great book and a wonderful story.


“circles are wonderful because they are endless. anything endless is wondrous. but endlessness is torture, too. i knew they horizon could never be caught but still chased it. what i have done is foolish; i had no choice but to do it.”

“life gives you lemons, you cave off their skins and garnish your martinis”

“….i didnt deserve to be there. and maybe i didn’t, but you can’t measure fairness in a lab. you can’t know if you deserve something. probably you don’t.”

“i own him my life, lloyd had said many times. 
your life can’t be a debt, she’d countered once, or then it’s not really yours, and nothing has been saved.”

“everyone knows men don’t get old, at least not in a way that matters”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, Abortion, Incest, and Sexual content

oliviaja's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and War

absolutive's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Abandonment and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, and War