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lillyskyemily's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Way more gruesome and tragic than I expected it to be. Very heavy topics, maybe not the ideal bedtime read. Still a beautifully written story with interesting themes explored in front of a sobering historical context.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty
violarosa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Awesome book, a bit gruesome at times and a bit too graphic for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Murder, and War
jollybaboon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Torture
Moderate: War
uselesspirateraven's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
tealattes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
I haven’t watched the movie so I cannot compare it to del Toro’s original work. Assuming not much was changed in the written version, I think del Toro’s story of Pan’s Labyrinth is uniquely dark and captivating, balancing fairytale elements while studying the many facets of human nature (hope, motivation, cruelty, desperation, will, how one is shaped by their upbringing, etc). Cornelia Funke was successful in relaying this story, especially in capturing the mindsets of the three main characters Ofelia, Vidal and Mercedes, a dark mood, and both realistically vivid and fantastical imagery. However I didn’t enjoy her writing style and it felt awkward; only until I was well into it was I able to ignore it.
The story is about a girl named Ofelia who moves to a mill with her widowed but newly married mother. Ofelia is still grieving over the loss of her father. All her life she has found solace in fairytales, so she is not surprised when she finds her own. A fairy leads her to a labyrinth where a Faun tells her she is a lost princess, and gives her three tasks which must be completed if she is to return to the underground kingdom. While Ofelia is completing these tasks, her stepfather Vidal is running a terrorizing operation in the forest. Ofelia’s stepfather is Ernesto Vidal, the capitán of a military group sent to the forest to weed out and kill resistance members to Franco’s fascist government regime. This historical element runs in the background and is not a central focus but provides an interesting setting for Ofelia’s fairytale and the birthplace for people like Vidal, whose actions supply most of the dark content of this novel as he is nothing shy of a sadistic villain.
What I enjoyed most were the woven in tales that provided lore to the world and linked all the magical elements that Ofelia was encountering. It was definitely easy to read despite the dark themes, and it felt realistic despite the magic.
The story is about a girl named Ofelia who moves to a mill with her widowed but newly married mother. Ofelia is still grieving over the loss of her father. All her life she has found solace in fairytales, so she is not surprised when she finds her own. A fairy leads her to a labyrinth where a Faun tells her she is a lost princess, and gives her three tasks which must be completed if she is to return to the underground kingdom. While Ofelia is completing these tasks, her stepfather Vidal is running a terrorizing operation in the forest. Ofelia’s stepfather is Ernesto Vidal, the capitán of a military group sent to the forest to weed out and kill resistance members to Franco’s fascist government regime. This historical element runs in the background and is not a central focus but provides an interesting setting for Ofelia’s fairytale and the birthplace for people like Vidal, whose actions supply most of the dark content of this novel as he is nothing shy of a sadistic villain.
What I enjoyed most were the woven in tales that provided lore to the world and linked all the magical elements that Ofelia was encountering. It was definitely easy to read despite the dark themes, and it felt realistic despite the magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, and War
Minor: Cursing
thepinkladylazarus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kaziaroo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm going to put this one down as "not for me". The fairytale style of writing grated on and frustrated me, as I constantly wanted more detail and depth but instead the narrative just glossed over descriptions and interspersed them with pretty platitudes. It felt like the author's only input in adapting the film for the page was to explain all the metaphors and leave nothing to the reader to deduce by themselves – for example: "The music Vidal listened to was playful and strangely different from the razor and the boots. It gave away that cruelty and death were a dance for him" (p. 56). It was as if the author thought they were writing for a child and needed to explain everything, but at the same time the book showed scenes of torture and death that are definitely not suitable for children.
The adult characters were well drawn but mostly one-dimensional. Oddly, the realistic scenes with Vidal and Carmen were much more impactful than the fantastical scenes with the Faun and the Pale Man. I've only seen clips of the film it's inspired by but I get the impression that the fantasy scenes that would have been chilling or even scary in the film were almost boring in the book.
I went in not knowing much about either the book or film and wasn't expecting so much direct portrayal of real-life war and fascism; judging from the cover (which has an image of Ofelia serenely hugging the Faun), I was expecting the fantasy to be more important to the main story rather than a series of possibly-imagined side quests that distract Ofelia from the awful events of her wartime life. I almost feel like the book shouldn't really be shelved in the fantasy section for that reason.
Overall, I was disappointed by this and would have DNFed if it had been any longer.
The adult characters were well drawn but mostly one-dimensional. Oddly, the realistic scenes with Vidal and Carmen were much more impactful than the fantastical scenes with the Faun and the Pale Man. I've only seen clips of the film it's inspired by but I get the impression that the fantasy scenes that would have been chilling or even scary in the film were almost boring in the book.
I went in not knowing much about either the book or film and wasn't expecting so much direct portrayal of real-life war and fascism; judging from the cover (which has an image of Ofelia serenely hugging the Faun), I was expecting the fantasy to be more important to the main story rather than a series of possibly-imagined side quests that distract Ofelia from the awful events of her wartime life. I almost feel like the book shouldn't really be shelved in the fantasy section for that reason.
Overall, I was disappointed by this and would have DNFed if it had been any longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, and War
Minor: Rape and Alcohol
borrelvissie's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
hollsbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and War