Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Pod by Laline Paull

5 reviews

bookbinbaby's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is a story of our times, it will haunt and inspire in equal measure, it felt like 'Game of Thrones' meets 'Seaspiracy' for me. Brutal. Reflective. Memorable. The characters are each very interesting in how they are individually and where they interact with each other. Holds a mirror up to how we take and overpower the natural world and don't appreciate the fine balance of mother Earth and are selfish as a race and unnecessarily cruel. Laline Paull and how she is able to draw readers in to a world and society we would recognise but populate it with cetaceans and other sea fellows just amazes me and is a talent that is as unique as it is captivating deserves a lot more recognition.  I'll be reading Bees by her next, and will appreciate the natural world even more in an entirely different way than I ever did before. Powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Addiction, Rape, Misogyny, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I can completely see that this book would not suit everyone, but I really loved it. There were some real surprises in here, amongst the darkness. I generally love fiction with animal protagonists anyway, so maybe I am slightly biased, but I really appreciated this book for it’s beauty, rawness, brutal honesty, heart wrenching twists, and also the rays of hope.
If you loved The Bees, and The Handmaids’s Tale, I’d highly recommend it, but I would definitely check trigger warnings if you need to do so, some sections are brutal to read, representing the animals’ survival and struggles in graphic scenes, so please go in forewarned. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Excrement, Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Medical trauma, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

elerireads's review

emotional 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? No

4.75

A bizarre and impressive book. It's fairly compact but manages to immerse you completely in the marine world and societal structures of multiple different species. My marine biology knowledge is minimal so I have no idea how well they reflect reality but it felt comprehensive and compelling. All the characters felt so real and individual. Somehow, through dolphins and whales and fish, the author managed to incorporate all sorts of interesting perspectives on gender and power dynamics and disability and race and parenthood and consent and displacement and coexisting with cultural differences. And of course, fundamentally it's a book that gives voice to the voiceless and mostly unseen victims of the destruction we're wreaking on marine ecosystems. As I said, impressive book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Blood, Child death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, Gore, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Sexual violence

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

This is by far the weirdest book I've ever read. And I was fascinated!
It's a book about humans ruining nature and disturbing the balance in the oceans, about the changing life underwater, (found) family and survival.... told from the perspective of a few dolphins and other sea creatures.
This is a short book, but it took me longer than expected to read it because I'm not familiar with all the marine life vocabulary. But I liked the writing in general and loved the atmosphere and setting. And I got very emotionally attached to the characters. Every time I paused my reading, I was pulled back to the book immediately and wanted to pick it up again as quickly as possible.
The plot mainly follows one female dolphin, but it's interrupted by glimpses into the lives of other sea dwellers. I was interested in all of them, and it was satisfying to learn about these cool species and how their stories intertwined.
I have to say that the story gets really brutal and there are too many rape scenes in my opinion.
I think I have to read The Bees now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Addiction, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

ramalam98's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

A super unique book that will stick with me for a long time. Very emotional. 

Please stop eating fish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual content

Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Grief and Suicidal thoughts