Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Violeta English Edition by Isabel Allende, Isabel Allende

50 reviews

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

3.0

While I liked the writing and the characters, this book took a really long time to really get anywhere and I never felt that invested. This is a book version of an old lady talking your ear off about her entire life, but if that’s a trope you enjoy you will love this book. 

I didn’t dislike it, but I was ready for it to end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Abortion

amkleintje's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Trafficking

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

gracescanlon's review

It's...fine.

That's the trouble, actually. It's fine. I could only read this before bed, because it kept putting me to sleep. That is, in a small way, also a compliment - Allende's prose, its rhythm, is soothing. But the book is also boring boring boring.

I've been trying to read more diverse books. Even so, Allende in general has been on my TBR, as a renowned female South American author. However, leaving the country where the book is set unnamed was frustrating to me. I've learned since abandoning this book that it's set in Chile, but as I read it, the vagueness of the location irked me. I want to know more about other places. Leaving Violeta's setting unspecified was counterproductive to that - it just wasn't a choice I liked or appreciated. I'm quite aware that that's a personal problem, and that Allende's choice was purposeful and valid, but I don't have to like it.

The amount of people in the reviews who were at all surprised as to Camilo's identity is baffling to me. It's so blatantly obvious to me that he's her grandson, or at the very least a grandson-like person in her life. Y'all need to work on reading comprehension.

Violeta seems, to me, aimless - an odd sensation, given it's the story of a woman's life that spanned throughout tumultuous times. But even 35% through the book, Violeta has only been "involved" with contemporary world events tangentially, if at all. 

Also, the older Violeta telling the story has a little personality, but her younger self has very little. Honestly, the side characters were all more interesting than she was, from Torito and the Rivases to her aunts and Miss Taylor. 

So, ultimately, I didn't care, don't care, can't care. I'll be donating or selling this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

teainthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Police brutality

bcvogel90's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Sexual assault

chingona_solo's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

"With time we only remember events, emotions fade" sums up the book well. An interesting story but it felt like there were no emotions attached to the events, which was an odd choice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer and Incest

lexcellent's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

itsaas_r's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual assault

eddalyd's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

Der flotte Erzählstil lässt die Erzählungen oft oberflächlich erscheinen. Interessant waren sie historischen Streifzüge. Weniger gefallen hat mir, dass immer wieder betont wurde wie wohlhabend Violeta sei bzw. dass sie auch durch ihre Beziehungen viele Vorteile genießen konnte. Sie kam oft stark privilegiert rüber, was die Geschichte teilweise unrealistisch wirken und mich kaum mit Violeta sympathisieren lassen hat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Dementia and Abortion

jnorwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Colonisation