Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Drachenläufer by Khaled Hosseini

77 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Whew, this one is rough af, and absolutely not for anyone sensitive to anything assault-related. The writing style wasn't my fav, and I'm not sure if I loved the author narrating either. But it did give me some historical context, which was useful. Sometimes it feels a little like books that do really well are just extremely distressing, and folks mistake that for being enthralling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Rape, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Torture, and Antisemitism

mxcopmy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful medium-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

5.0

Oh yes, Khaled Hosseini has once again stirred my tear ducts like I had never known my tears before. This book put a burn mark on my soul so deep inside. Once again, I closed a story of his with a heavy heart, a lighthearted laugh and a hearty tear.

I really can't get over how much I love Hosseini's work. Having read my all-time favourite (which really can never be surpassed, A Thousand splendid Suns) last summer, I was so enchanted by his writing that I couldn't help but read more of his stories. And this I did by reading the kite runner, or 'de vliegeraar' in dutch. An incredibly affecting story about Hassan and Amir living as friends in Afghanistan and losing their path in friendship. It introduces you to the raw meaning of friendship and the hard divides some people face in terms of social classes. How Hosseini portrays the setting of the wars in Afghanistan also really makes you gasp. He is able to make these enormously vivid and make the pain and suffering tangible. I really can't describe how hard I enjoyed this book. Or at least how much I enjoy Khaled Hosseini's writing style and inspirational stories. His books are a heartfelt experience that touch you deep in your heart and limbs.

I beg everyone to pick up a book by Khaled Hosseini one day. They are so worth it, I promise you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Torture, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Deportation

weepingstones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness

Minor: Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gizzylove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

This book is a masterpiece. Absolutely nothing critical I can say about it. I have never cried so much throughout a book. It's beautifully written. Poignant, with lots of life lessons that will stick with me forever. The character development is beautiful, and you find yourself so emotionally invested in Amir's journey of growth, forgiveness, and redemption. And your heart breaks a million times over Hassan and as you read you truly get so much wisdom from a 12 year old boy who didn't deserve all that he endured, and came out still a gentle soul. This book gutted me in the best, most beautiful way possible. A must read. It's the book you'll never stop thinking about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and War

zee_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and War

r34d3r's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

rahaf22's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Bullying, Racism, and Rape

taibreakfast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

I guess it's a cliché to like this book but it was really, really good! My friend put it well: it's so well crafted that it reads like a memoir. I think this is because it does such a good job with scene vs summary, connecting moments to broader history, recalling forward and backward in time. Like, the protagonist has really thought about the meanings behind his life events and the story it represents for him.

At times, some details or developments feel just a little too tidy, but also so much happens and there's so much hardship and violence, the tidy or circular elements do ground the story and help the reader to make meaning along the way. It means the writer is able to present us with not quite a happy ending that is still deeply satisfying and even hopeful. 

Listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend! It's read by the author, which can be hit or miss, but he does a good job. And I got to hear how he pronounces Afghanistan etc. It's not how they pronounce it on CNN!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Torture, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

figwood's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lizzardbeth99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism