Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

L'Ombra Del Vent by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

47 reviews

dark funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

arlettep's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Loveable characters: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A mostly enjoyable read - part coming of age, part mystery, part gothic tragedy - with fun writing that carried me through almost effortlessly from first to last. There were a few structural choices that I side-eyed, but weren't enough to knock me out of the story.

What did ick me out was several mentions of rape that I thought were not very well handled. The worst, and the main reason I knocked off half a star, is of a crossdressing gay man who is thrown in prison for a night, specifically to send a cruel message to his neighbors. Although the characters treat his assault with due gravity, the writing is a bit glib, as if to defuse the horror of the scene with badly-placed comedy. It left a bad taste in my mouth that unfortunately lingered and tainted my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

Which is a real shame, because for the most part it was damn good.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

There are definitely some unnecessary outdated terms,; it was set in the 1940s and 50s but published in 2001, so he could have skipped over the heroes saying those couple of words. And he somehow thought you know someone is pregnant only a day after sex? With those two caveats, it was a pretty intriguing read. I thought I knew where it was headed, but it was very wrong. So there were a lot of twists and turns in there. There were some slow moments, but overall, the web that he weaved was pretty intricate. And also, the villain was one of the most despicable of all time, so
I'm very glad he got what he deserved.
 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious 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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

An exciting, mysterious, often funny, and multi-layered story that weaves in and out of various timelines. As each element of the tale unfolds, more is revealed, and the characters become more embedded in the telling of the tales. Highly recommend.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings