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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism and Death of parent
tenten's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Child death and Antisemitism
athenaia'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
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
aargot1's review
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and War
hardcoverhearts's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Murder
sarrasegway's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Excrement, and Antisemitism
brgntteva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Antisemitism
boogsbooks's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A portion of the story is also told through the lens of Ettore, an Italian photographer who has no business being in war. Ettore’s story revolves around his father, where his father comes from, and how that defines him. While I was interested in the layer Ettore’s father added to the book, I felt as though Ettore was here simply to carry the novel’s focus on photography as storytelling. Excerpts throughout the book are told as descriptions of photos. This worked well but made me question the role of Ettore as a central character.
This was my final read of 2020 and it felt like such a fitting ending. It’s epic in all of its forms. It left me reflective, cheering for the underdog, acknowledging pain in repeated history, and finding hope in moving forward.
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief
curatoriallyyours's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The negatives: Though I pitied the main character for all she endured, I did not warm to her. The author's style was also quite off-putting and made it hard for me to sink into the narrative until well into the book. If I hadn't been reading this as the final book in a reading challenge (with only a few days to go) I'd probably have abandoned it. The author's refusal to use speech marks to denote speech baffled me and made me resentful for the re-reading I needed to do every time I realised someone had started speaking without the usual indication that this was the case. I don't care to read any more from this author as a result.
I feel that the story itself was worthwhile but the author's style really bothered me throughout the book and stopped me from ever truly being enveloped in the narrative.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, and Medical trauma
Minor: Drug use and Antisemitism