Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

L'Ombra Del Vent by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

47 reviews

kell_xavi's review against another edition

2.0

medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, Classism

Minor: Excrement

mikarala's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book was hard for me to rate. There are definitely some real strengths: I think the writing style is beautifully lyrical and engaging, the plot is overall really good, some of the characters are really entertaining, and I enjoy the setting of post-Civil War Spain. However, I do think there are some pacing issues (the first half is quite slow imo), there's no fresh takes of the themes or interesting messages, and I never really fell in love with any of the characters, or even really had strong feelings towards them. What got me really turning the pages in the second half of the novel (which was much quicker paced than the first) was just an eagerness to figure out what was going to happen. And while that's certainly not an issue, it's not what I look for from a book and it prevent me from rating it higher even though I highly recommend reading this.

Ultimately I feel like this is a story that follows the conventions of story-telling extremely well, but without any very interesting twists to make it unique.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, War

Minor: Incest, Rape, Forced institutionalization

narsere's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization

Minor: Sexual content

fleural's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

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A particularly excellent book for bibliophiles, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a book about the love of a book and the search for its author, his life and the lives surrounding the reader (the narrator) and writer both during and in the wake of war. It features strong character development and elements of magic realism with beautifully poignant story lines and memorable, distinguishable characters all with their own lives and losses. The book is not without its humor, but it´s also deeply emotional and addresses a slough of humans rights issues relevant to its setting, so be aware there is some heavy content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality

Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization

Set during and in the wake of the war with a diverse cast of characters with hard lives, this book delves into a great deal of issues which is why I´m putting the content warnings but most are handled with great humanness and compassion.

okarenhelena's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, Stalking

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, War

frenandjen's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

parkyparkpark's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail

anna_i3's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement

jeanniea's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Great storytelling. Similar storytelling style to that of erin morgenstern. Story picks up about halfway thru. I enjoyed the ending of the book! There were a few unexpected surprises in the plot.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

obohobo's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, War