Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

La buena tierra by Pearl S. Buck

4 reviews

hedyharper's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

crunch1009's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

While reading through the book, I found myself incredibly engaged in every chapter. At times, it did feel rather slow but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The characters, I had a hard time trying to like, really only being fond of O-lan. The ending though, practically ruined the whole book for me. I felt sick to my stomach when reading the last 3 chapters and almost stopped reading it entirely. I can’t really see myself entirely understanding why Pearl S. Buck ended the book like so, but, it’s still a good read nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Cannibalism

tracie_mcd's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

This was an epic, historical fiction multi-generational family drama of life in a very small Chinese town. The book was written in 1931 and it is hard to pin down the exact time frame of the story but there are hints to it with references to a war and “revolution” that take place at different times during the story but our very short passing references. The depiction of women and their lives during this time period in China is hard to read and I found myself so sympathetic to the first wife and mother, O’Lan. She was such an incredible woman and the lack of kindness or love shown to her through her entire life (too spite being the biggest reason for the families eventual prosperity) really bothered and saddened me. The fact that she received no real credit for all she did and that her husband didn’t really acknowledge or appreciate her and all she contributed until the end of her life and again at the end of his life made me unsympathetic to Wang Lung however I do believe it to be an honest and truthful portrayal of most women’s lives in China during that time. I struggled with the problematic references to the clearly special needs daughter in the novel but again we’re probably accurate given the time frame and location of the story. This book should have been a 5 star book for me due to my love of epic, historical period novels but I think the hard lives, famine and poverty were hard to read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, and Abandonment

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and War