Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen

5 reviews

ckiyoko's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-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

4.75

Yeah, this book fucks. I think the ending is (almost!) perfect, but I think we needed a few more internal beats from a certain character to make a decision they made feel like it made sense/felt earned, but overall, yeah. Wonderful. Super atmospheric, with really satisfying causality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

purplemuskogee's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

4.0

I have really enjoyed this historical novel, which focuses on a small community - in the Arctic circle, between Finland and Russia, where a Lutheran preacher is trying to convert the Sami population, a liquor merchant is trying to sell them alcohol, and the Sami herders are trying to cling to their identity while Russia and Finland decide to close the borders, making it impossible for them to move their reindeer herds. We follow a few characters closely - Ivvár, a young Sami reindeer herder, whose alcoholic father has a divine revelation and becomes religious; Willa, the daughter of the Lutheran pastor, who falls in love with Ivvár; Risten, who was previously in love with Ivvár, but has accepted to marry a better match, and Henrik, the liquor merchant who worries about the debts the Sami owe him. 
It was well-written and dramatic, and covered a topic I know very little about but found really interesting. The characters felt really well-written and had enough depth, and the novel kept going further in terms of drama, until the end and the fate of the characters, which felt inevitable.

Free copy sent by Netgalley.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Sexual harassment

helinae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence

wenwe'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I loved the context, descriptions, and historical reach. I found the multiple viewpoints switching confusing and did not identify with any character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

5.0

Hanna Pylväinen’s stunning sophomore novel will transport you to the breathtaking, unforgiving subarctic tundra of the Sámi, Indigenous Peoples of the Nordic region whose land and lifestyle defies borders.  In an isolated village, a provocative Lutheran minister—based upon the real-life founder of the Laestadian movement—aims to turn the Sámi toward Jesus and away from their traditional culture.  When he converts a prominent reindeer herdsman in a dramatic awakening, the community is (literally) shaken.  Meanwhile two young people from opposite sides are falling in love.  As the seasons change, from polar night to midnight sun, the Sámi embark on their regular migration—of Biblical proportions—across the frozen landscape with the reindeer.  This transformative, atmospheric epic explores the meaning of family, loyalty, and the pain of colonization.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, and Death of parent