Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Mis Últimos 10 Minutos y 38 Segundos en este Extraño Mundo, by Elif Shafak

28 reviews

meadhbh's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is the story of Leila, a sex worker who has just been killed in Istanbul, and the memories she recalls in her last 10 minutes and 38 seconds of life. It's also the story of the friends she's made, and how desperately we can care for the people we love.

I used to think that I didn't like historical fiction. It seemed boring and stuffy to me, and I could never really get into it. 

I mostly still feel the same, but a series of non-Western modern history books have been slowly warming me to it. The Seven Moons of Mali Almeida and Mexican Gothic are two other recent reads I have loved. 

This book is mostly about Leila and her friends, but it's also about Istanbul. It's about communism, and Islam, and sex work, while also not really being about any of those things. Read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Transphobia

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Blood, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Genocide

williamgideon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really love Elif Shafak. Her writing, storytelling and ability to craft complex and loveable characters is just spectacular. I loved every minute of reading this book. I was never bored, which is very rare for me lol. It was just so interesting, the setting and all the characters. Leilas friend group was so amazing. It kind of reminded me of the show Pose in the way it handled the found family trope alongside grief and opression. This is a really amazing book and the second best book of Shafak's that I've read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Child abuse

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Self harm, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Mental illness, and Trafficking

ruthmoog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

This has some very challenging topics but nonetheless I really enjoyed it. I will surely reread this, it's a brilliant idea to recount Leila's life you could say flashing Infront of her eyes. It's funny and approachable. Set in the drama of Istanbul and even, of course, a cat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Mass/school shootings, Incest, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Genocide, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

moonchildjuli's review against another edition

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

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Incest, Grief, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Transphobia, Violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Homophobia, and Trafficking

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world fortunately proves to be a better elif shafak read for me than my previous, thwarted effort. this book is abt those on the fringes of society, but also abt istanbul and turkey at large. 

aided by an interesting, intriguing structure, the novel's first part reads like snapshots from the main character leila's life. while initially very slow going - the pace making me actually put down the book for 2 weeks - things start to pick up once we get out of leila's hometown, leila thrusted into the wider world - for better and for worse - while also gradually learning abt the five friends she so treasures.

i rly enjoy reading abt istanbul thru the POVs of characters marginalized by society, seeing the city thru a different, less sanitized perspective, yet a sense of love for the city, interestingly, still pervades. shafak spotlights those rarely seen or heard in the mainstream, let alone humanely, in this novel, be it those who are turkish and arent, esp the more recent and pressing refugees. the book's period of upheaval also serves as a revealing, rollicking - though at times painful - historical archive. 

what i love most abt this book is perhaps the relationship between leila and her 5 friends, both individually and as a group. theirs is  a bond deeper and closer than those of their respectively wretched families, and it's surprisingly touching. in a society that shuns them and wrongs go unpunished, they band tgt to survive, find joy and stand up for themselves. 

this is an enjoyable book thats as much abt the characters as the city of istanbul they live in, in all its glory and misery. though i personally think there's too much exposition, some parts could be trimmed, and the initial pace too slow, i dont merely feel but also learn a lot from this book, and thats always a good reading experience in my book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death, Transphobia, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage and Infidelity

mariachiara's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Self harm, Trafficking, and Incest

chl0b1's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Hate crime, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Grief, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Mental illness

alomie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A story of a woman's life as told through her memories in the last 10 minutes and 38 seconds as her brain shuts down.

I found this story very moving and hard to read in parts a tragic story and her abrupt death. There is hope mixed in there with the 5 friends and their stories but also some great sadness.

A comment on Sex work in Istanbul, the struggles of the trans community and the harsh realities of a repressed nation and its obvious disdain for women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child death, Homophobia, Grief, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Self harm

emmacharlotte96's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Sexual violence

manasvini's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

What I liked:
The concept, the narrative, the cast of diverse characters and stories, the vivid and immersive descriptions of Istanbul

What I disliked:
The sheer amount of trauma, which almost started feeling like sensationalism, especially when accompanied with little to no reflection on it. (I wish I had read the trigger warnings before hand.) How much the first part slogged in comparison to the second and third parts. 

It was a good read but does not make me motivated to read other works by Shafak.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Car accident, Cursing, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Torture