Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Το τετράδιο της Μάγια by Isabel Allende

9 reviews

ticianeaneane's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

soffeg6's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

berecca_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

Maya Vidal manages to be a personally-opposite chaos point that shows the reader the way for personal reflection. If you finish the book without seeing yourself in the way she responded deaths in her family, complicated parental relationships, and vices, then odds are, you just haven’t lived long enough. Maya, and the reader, will be healed with time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

carlapastor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Soy una de las mayores haters de libros que me mandan leer en clase pero sorprendentemente este me ha gustado bastante. Soy incapaz de decir cómo de realista es porque habla de muchos temas que nunca he experimentado y espero no experimentar, pero por lo que sé Isabel Allende tenía familiares que han sufrido en la adicción a las drogas, así que asumo que será real.

Me gustan los personajes, me gusta la historia y me gusta esta narración alternada aunque en algunos momentos se sentía un poco como si fuese relleno, pero no era la mayoría del libro.

Adoro con todo mi alma que pudiese terminar sin un hombre y no pasase nada, aunque no me queda muy claro si al final pretende volver con él. Por favor, no. No es necesario.

En fin, me parece bastante buen libro. Sorprendentemente.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Gun violence

liri_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

loxeletters's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective slow-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

3.0

I've been sitting in this review for a while... I enjoyed this book. It was funny, interesting, and well-written. I really enjoyed exploring the Las Vegas drug scene and the topic of addiction. I   

But there were also some major issues I had, especially the way this book treats PTSD. Manuel's trauma is confronted in a way which I found distasteful and unrealistic. I would have liked to explore the topic of Pinochets dictatorship more in depth in general - I was hoping it would be a big theme in the book, that's why I picked it up - but instead it felt rushed and shallow. This may very well be also due to the diary format, which of course lends itself to a lot of telling and less showing.

My second big issue with the book was the way the big mystery was realised. For the first half of the book, we're wondering why Maya is in Chiloé. Once the Las Vegas Part of the story is told, however, the stakes felt suddenly quite low. I felt like they were all being a bit overdramatic. Then, in the last thirty pages, things suddenly pick back up again and everything devolves rapidly. The final solution regarding Arana was also very speculative for me... Not enough actual proof, only some speculation on Maya's part to eplain his role. It felt weird.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the setting of Chiloé and the community of the little island. Makes me want to visit actually! I liked the characters, though I was frustrated by Maya at times. I enjoyed the parts about the dictatorship and about her addiction. I also appreciated the dry, understated humour.  Overall a mixed experience.  I was told this is Allende's most "YA" work, and I'm excited to read more adult works by her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Eating disorder, Incest, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion

lena_loves_reading's review against another edition

4.0

I couldn't feel a connection in the beginning, but I enjoyed the ending :)

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

gitli57's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

3.0

Allende can be very hit or miss for me. In Maya's Notebook, she managed to hit and miss in the same book. There was some genuinely moving writing about the horrors of the US backed Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (which Allende and her family experienced first hand). Allende can also bring off an Indigenous sensibility and does here. But there are larger believability issues, starting with the narrative voice. Since the novel is told in first person, this really undermines her main character. Many of the plot points wobble into TV novella territory. The line between genuine emotion and sentimentality is not as sharp and obvious as some critics like to suggest, so decide for yourself whether or not Allende crosses it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Rape

bee_solena's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol