Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

11 reviews

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Abortion, and Alcohol

mericherry's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I usually love Allende’s work but this one missed the mark for me. It was very dry. Many character threads were dropped - perhaps as in real life as we lose touch with people, but not satisfying in a novel. I found many of the character traits to be inconsistent, especially toward the end as the main character reflects on his life - many reflections were counter to my own understanding of what I’d read (again, realistic perhaps to remember differently than at the moment of experience but a confusing way to read!). Overall lacking in the usual sparkle of Allende’s typical style. I did enjoy getting a thorough history lesson on the Spanish Civil War and of Chile for most of the 1900’s - I just wish the plot and characters had been more engaging too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

my_weird_bookish_heart's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

jinmichae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-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

3.75

This one didn't pull me in nearly as much as the others I've read by the author. It feels more like a biography than something with an overarching plot.

It mostly explores the full lives and loves of the main two characters and how they were affected by the Spanish Civil War, what was done in Chile on September 11, 1973, and other instances closer to their family. I enjoyed it--the writing was beautiful as always, the subject interesting and giving voice to parts of history I haven't encountered before--but because it was many narratives coming together, it didn't have as much focus as I prefer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Classism

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This gets an extra star exclusively for the fact that the man whose life this book was based on died 6 days before Allende could give him the final manuscript and tell him she dedicated it to him. The main plot of this book is the long and painful lives of Victor and Roser. The background of their lives includes the Spanish Civil war and political unrest in Chile. Unfortunately this book is boring. Because it never settles on a time period and elaborates on feelings and growth of the main characters, this story falls flat for me. The characters are flawed (as most people are) but, they spend almost no time ruminating or atoning for things like cheating or lying. I just couldn't bring myself to care about anyone or anything in this book. Allende is a beautiful writer I just think this is a boring story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

grereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I had to read this book for spanish class, as we were learning about the Spanish Civil War as well as the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina, making a wider discourse on the importance of historical memory. I had about a month to read this, but as a master procrastinator I ended up reading this on the last 2 days before the writing test about it. This definitely negatively affected my reading experience, as I couldn't fully appreciate the writing or sympathise with the characters because I was in a rush, and I ended up not liking this as much as the other Allende books I've read.
That being said, I really appreciate Allende's creativity, she comes up with really interesting and entertaining stories. The fact she managed to unite important parts of both of Spanish and of Latin American history was very cool. Also, Roser is a fantastic female character.
The ending kind of sucked in all honesty, and the book could have been shorter, but it's not a bad novel overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Child death, Dementia, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Torture, Antisemitism, and Abortion

mesulkin's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

bridgetkay's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Allende handled the historical context well, deftly placing her protagonists as Catalan refugees from the Spanish civil war who establish a new home in Chile, only for that to result in a dictatorship also. However, the setting is not the focus of the novel, with relationships being what anchors this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

beaucoupmitch's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book has reminded me of why I love historical fiction so much.

I think it's right to put a highlight on how rich the writing is in this book. It's the first time I read any of Allende's book and since this is one of her most recent works I consider myself lucky, because she's certainly known her way around with words for years. Of course the premise sounds strange for our times since the book took place throughout decades starting from the 1930s, and some aspects could be weird as heck, especially regarding the characters, who had questionable moral compass, in my opinion. I'm not too fond of the characters as individuals, but by God, what a long life they've been through together (and not)!

While reading we got to see meaning behind the title and I think it was so touching how it was delivered. This book is overall a tribute to a homeland, a homage to history, and a beautiful narrative about home and the idea of home. It is also, to my understanding, an acknowledgement to creative minds: poets, artists, musicians, and how their contribution too were important in surviving the wars and other dire times. I can't get over the following paragraph:

"During the endless evenings in that reduced space, he went over the list of refugees he had granted a place on board in Bordeaux that distant August 1939 day, as well as other exiled Spanish men and women who arrived in Chile in the years that followed. Victor pointed out that Neruda's refusing to stick to the government's order to select only skilled workers, and instead including artists and intellectuals, had enriched the country with a wide range of talent, knowledge, and culture. In under a decade they had provided outstanding scientists, musicians, painters, writers, journalists, and even a historian whose dream was the monumental task of rewriting the history of Chile from its origins." (p. 215)

This could've been that love story with marriage of convenience trope, but to me it's more than that. It's a story with an immense expression about hope and loss, the becomes and the could've beens, the surprises in life, and the broken promises that have never been pledged. If you're a historical fiction fan I highly recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Terminal illness and War

Minor: Body shaming and Racism

claudia_bow's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Death of parent