Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

De stad der blinden by José Saramago

49 reviews

rubyics's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

minna_s's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This story is a fascinating, and dark, look at humanity. The whole thing plays out like a social experiment - what would happen to us if we all suddenly went blind? By refusing to name the characters, it adds to the dehumanizing effects of the story. And by occasionally omitting to note which character is speaking, it adds to the confusion. Unfortunately, because of this lack of identifying information, I felt that some scenes dragged on a little too long. But overall, I enjoyed this bleak, hypothetical examination of the human race. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

ahzarkie's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

tmbrundage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Compelling and thoughtful book, but graphic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.75

A beautiful, dark, horrifying, redemptive read, which is more honest about human nature than anything I have ever experienced. I would highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

jeanjacquesrousseau's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

4,5/5 arrondît 

« Je pense que nous ne sommes pas devenus aveugles, je pense que nous étions aveugles, Des aveugles qui voient, Des aveugles qui, voyant, ne voient pas. » 

👏👏👏 tout dit

Pour José (de ce que j’ai interprété du livre):

-La peur nous rend aveugle et, dans des cas extrêmes, mène à la déchéance humaine, jusqu’à être réduit à un état animal.
-Aimer et aider son prochain, c’est être humain.

big slay señor Saramago 💅

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

teawiththefates's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

This is the absolute bleakest view of humanity and I hated it. As well, I found the stylistic choices made it impossible to read - every page was a wall of text with almost no differentiation to signal who was speaking. The audio version made it more accessible but because of the incredibly dark content, I would never have finished this book if it wasn’t what my book club was reading that month. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

moonymars's review against another edition

dark reflective

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

5.0

 When names, possessions, money, the government, institutions etc. all lose their value, what happens?

In Saramago's "Ensaio sobre a Cegueira" (Blindness) an epidemic of blindness takes over the world. We follow characters that were looked up a mental hospital so their blindness doesn't spread. However, one of the characters never blinds, she never loses her vision and ends up being a witness to the horror that came over the country.

I hate writing big reviews, so overall, this is a great book with good social critiques and a good analysis of the human condition.

book tw: violence, rape (heavy on this one), dead, murder 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

kschuster's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic