Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Racconti di Natale by Alex R. Falzon, Charles Dickens

37 reviews

rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, and Classism

felofhe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

chasingpages1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Emotional abuse and Alcohol

philosopher_kj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Child death and Classism

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Classism

erebus53's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I recently read a short story by Ray Bradbury with Charles Dickens in it, and made a checklist of books from that story to read, so this is one of those!

I realised that although I am familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, I had not actually read it for myself. I was interested to find that it is not just a cautionary tale against miserliness, but really it is a story that is about empathy and that it really goes both ways. By exploring the childhood events that lead to the general curmudgeonly meanness of spirit in the old man, the audience gets to empathise with those who have a gruff exterior.

The spooky scary descriptions of the ghosts that come to visit the old man (and scare him straight) are interesting to me because this was published in 1843, and to this day spectres are pictured like this in both books and video media. The idea of a spirit being faintly bioluminescent and translucent, with floaty hair that that moves like it's in a breeze is something I have seen many times over.

(tangent) In this story it actually refers to that same sort of glow that you see in the pantry when the meat goes off.. which I think is amusing. This is a phenom that was noted in the wars with wounded soldiers, and something I first learned of as a wee thing when the cat didn't eat her meat quick enough.

I really like the way the story is written. The banter is witty and the descriptions are clever. For all it's scariness and death and things I can see why it is an enduring favourite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Classism

Moderate: Child death

readbyella_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Child death and Chronic illness

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Classism

maeverose's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

Not really sure how to rate this yet. I like the overall story, but I’d rather just watch an adaptation.. Even though it’s a short book, I don’t care for the story enough to spend the  time reading it. I’m a slow reader, especially with classics because of the older language. I did not mesh with the writing style. Most of the book was easy enough to understand but there were parts I had no clue what was being said, and Dickens really likes to drag things on sometimes. I skimmed a little because I kind of just wanted to get through it. I think part of the issue as well is that I’m so used to the adaptations that I’m not gonna have a strong reaction to the book, already knowing everything that happens.

The muppets version remains superior

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Ableism and Misogyny