Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

66 reviews

bookishreadersclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

When they say this book is dark, they mean it. Do not be fooled by the beginning chapters of this book that feign hopeful stories of aspiring soldiers. The darkness of this book has subjected itself to one specific chapter, chapter 21. There are gruesome, cruel, horrifying depictions of war crimes. Nothing will prepare you for it. Read trigger warnings. Please.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Abortion, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The beginning and end were really strong, however the middle part felt a bit like a disjointed slump.
Whlile I always want to give the benefit of believing that maybe that was just how the character felt, this does not seem to be the case here.

Spoiler

The Fact, that there were mere chapters between the setup of the facility and arriving there annoyed me SO much. And then they were out again just as fast, ugh

One of the strongest parts of this book is the bluntness of talking about themes- as well as just vivid and brutal pictures, actually depicturing horrors and topics often glossed over. I have to mention the feminism here, loved everything about it!
Overall a great book with some annoying points, I am interested to see more and hope for an in depth journey of the mind of our main character!

Spoiler

The worst part were the animal deaths tho :c

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Death, Abandonment, War, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infertility, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Cursing, Body horror, Hate crime, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Excrement, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Child death, and Abortion

hunter_uhl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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: Cursing, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Gore, War, Drug abuse, Murder, Self harm, Colonisation, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

mouseketaylor's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Drug abuse, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Rape, War, Violence, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Forced institutionalization

secretgoldfish's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

I've never read a book where I didn't know who to root for by the end. I've also never read a book that went from 0 to 100 so fast.
The vibe of this book is the scene in Mulan where they're singing about girls and then they come over the hill and see the village burned to the ground.
Its so sudden. So jarring. And so intense. I loved every second of this book. Its so real and mystical at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, War, Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Drug use, Addiction, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, War, Murder, Death, Torture, Violence, and Genocide

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Colonisation, and Sexual assault

sarah_wedeking's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

4.5

Wow this was crazy. A fantastic but very dark read that makes you reflect on war and history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

georgia_lou's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Classism, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Addiction, Confinement, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and War

raisinbrann's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Mental illness, Drug abuse, War, Sexual harassment, Murder, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Gore, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Misogyny, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Slavery, Trafficking, and Vomit

Minor: Pregnancy, Body horror, and Infertility

zerosugarstrawberrydrpepper's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

this is a fantastic book, but it’s very very important to check trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, War, Suicide, Drug use, Addiction, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Gore, Torture, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death