Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Violeta by Isabel Allende

45 reviews

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

3.0

While I liked the writing and the characters, this book took a really long time to really get anywhere and I never felt that invested. This is a book version of an old lady talking your ear off about her entire life, but if that’s a trope you enjoy you will love this book. 

I didn’t dislike it, but I was ready for it to end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Abortion

j9wan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

Slow start, then interesting but just not to my taste, I struggled to get through it at times. I learnt a lot about Latin America and specifically Chile, which I hadn't looked into before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism

amkleintje's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Trafficking

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

gracescanlon's review against another edition

It's...fine.

That's the trouble, actually. It's fine. I could only read this before bed, because it kept putting me to sleep. That is, in a small way, also a compliment - Allende's prose, its rhythm, is soothing. But the book is also boring boring boring.

I've been trying to read more diverse books. Even so, Allende in general has been on my TBR, as a renowned female South American author. However, leaving the country where the book is set unnamed was frustrating to me. I've learned since abandoning this book that it's set in Chile, but as I read it, the vagueness of the location irked me. I want to know more about other places. Leaving Violeta's setting unspecified was counterproductive to that - it just wasn't a choice I liked or appreciated. I'm quite aware that that's a personal problem, and that Allende's choice was purposeful and valid, but I don't have to like it.

The amount of people in the reviews who were at all surprised as to Camilo's identity is baffling to me. It's so blatantly obvious to me that he's her grandson, or at the very least a grandson-like person in her life. Y'all need to work on reading comprehension.

Violeta seems, to me, aimless - an odd sensation, given it's the story of a woman's life that spanned throughout tumultuous times. But even 35% through the book, Violeta has only been "involved" with contemporary world events tangentially, if at all. 

Also, the older Violeta telling the story has a little personality, but her younger self has very little. Honestly, the side characters were all more interesting than she was, from Torito and the Rivases to her aunts and Miss Taylor. 

So, ultimately, I didn't care, don't care, can't care. I'll be donating or selling this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

mal_reads_books's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? Yes

3.0

I liked the storyline and the characters, though something about the narration style made me feel distant from it as a reader. I couldn’t connect with the characters or feel invested in the story as much as I would’ve liked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

chingona_solo's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

"With time we only remember events, emotions fade" sums up the book well. An interesting story but it felt like there were no emotions attached to the events, which was an odd choice. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer and Incest

lexcellent's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

dfram's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

i loved this book. the writing was incredible, i felt for the characters, i cried and i laughed. i love the format for this book

it reads like letters to an undisclosed person until well into half of the book probably!

i loved the full circle moments where all of my questions are answered. i was inspired by violeta's candid storytelling, i appreciate the historical background of that period of time. violeta sharing and honoring people she loved by sharing their stories is so powerful and moving and captivating. slow start, once i got into it i really liked it! i will be reading more isabel allende books in the future<3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Pregnancy

eddalyd's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Der flotte Erzählstil lässt die Erzählungen oft oberflächlich erscheinen. Interessant waren sie historischen Streifzüge. Weniger gefallen hat mir, dass immer wieder betont wurde wie wohlhabend Violeta sei bzw. dass sie auch durch ihre Beziehungen viele Vorteile genießen konnte. Sie kam oft stark privilegiert rüber, was die Geschichte teilweise unrealistisch wirken und mich kaum mit Violeta sympathisieren lassen hat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Dementia and Abortion

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, and War