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laura_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Deportation
scifipunk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Rape, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Suicide, Antisemitism, Dementia, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Deportation
Note that all minor warnings refer to usually less than a page of content, not explicit and are easy to skim or skip. Grief is not particularly explicit, only tagged as major because it is a recurring theme for several characters. Alcohol (and alcohol abuse) is mentioned several times with different characters, including as response to trauma, but not explicit. Death is never explicit, but given that the novel takes place within 107 years, to be expected. Medical trauma refers to a long scene early in Kitty’s part of the book, which involves a traumatic encounter with the soviet secret service. Can be easily skipped, as consequences are addressed later on. Several wars are mentioned, multiple characters experience a traumatic rape, though most of both happens off-screen or is somewhat censored by the narrator.frietje9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Death and Abortion
katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is quite a commitment in both length and graphic content so won't be for everyone, but if you feel able to commit then it will give you a really good story whilst also teaching you something of the history of the USSR. In particular through the eyes of thè female line of a fictitious Georgian family.
However it really does not shy away from the brutality of life behind the iron curtain and tells a tragic tale in many particularly given the geopolitical situation we find ourselves in at the moment.
Please proceed with exstreame caution if you are struggling with your mental health. I don't know whether I would have started the journey had I been fully armed with the facts before doing so but I was too gripped to stop once I had started. A masterpiece.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and War
sara_n's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Police brutality
mansinnikam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, War, Classism, and Deportation
aemulatio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
chia_ie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the ending was so good. the very few past pages. so, so good. the characters were all so flawed, so human. but i loved them all regardless. it was as if i actually knew them. the stories were surreal, yet gutting to read, because i fear that some of the events that took place are not far from the reality of life back then.
if you have the patience, i would absolutely recommend this book. the one downside is that i didn’t find it to be a book i could relax with. i had to be focused to work out the connections between characters and such. i even ended up drawing family trees to help myself
this book was great. i’ll miss the Jashis.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
atiaijaz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Antisemitism, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol
eliicapss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment