Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Der Schattenkönig by Maaza Mengiste

3 reviews

andrea_gagne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

Minor: Gore and Excrement

sarrasegway's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

curatoriallyyours's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

The positives: I learnt a lot from reading this book, even though it is a work of fiction, about Ethiopia and the Italian invasion under Mussolini. I intend to read some non-fiction on this topic as a result of reading this story. 

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.

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Content Warnings

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