Reviews tagging 'Violence'

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

53 reviews

cnannery19's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

arayo's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Transphobia, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Pregnancy

sarasantiagopires's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

Elif Shafak is always a JOY to read!
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book, when we meet Leila and read through her and her friends' stories. They are so tragic and so touching at the same time. 
It was also very interesting that Istambul was the backdrop of this book. All these characters ended up living in a city that also kind of despised them.
However, the second part of the book was less captivating and sometimes a bit too funny and shallow in contrast with the rest of the book. 
Still, I must say that I was sad the book ended as it was such a delightful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, and Violence

matmatmatty's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense 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? No

4.5

This is the story of Leila, a sex worker in Istanbul, who while dying is remembering her life and the moments that led up to her death.

This is a very emotional story, with Leila going through a lot on her childhood and a lot as an adult. Through the story, we learn about her closest friends she met along the way and all the characters felt so real and so complex.

Spoiler:

The second part of the story follows Leila's friends deciding to give her a proper burial and did feel a bit like a different story. I think it could've flowed a bit better but I am glad that we got a happy end. Once we hear about Leila's story, the book could have ended there and it would have been a sad story.  But with this, we know she is a peace and everyone is a little closer because of that.

Overall, I really loved this story, it was very emotional at times and I felt for Leila at every point. Beautiful story ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

deanna_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

A really poignant and moving story about the importance of friendship and finding your own way in life in spite of your beginnings. I really felt for Tequila Leila and I wanted so badly for a twist of fate where

she doesn’t in fact end up dead in the bottom of a trash bin, but of course this isn’t possible given that she’s already dead when the novel begins.

I really love Shafak’s style - which has only gotten better with each novel shes written in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy

yasminasbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence

katrinarose's review

dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

Shafak does such an a wonderful job of setting the scene in Istanbul and the other various settings in Turkey. Her way of bringing a character to life in just a chapter is amazing, and I felt so much for Leila that I became sadder each chapter knowing that she had died. The character study and friendship development is definitely the most important and impactful part of this book, not the plot. It’s a beautiful and tragic story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

e11en's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

rarasreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

This was a vividly, sensorial story about Leila who experiences a heightened state of awareness following her death in the streets of Istanbul. For 10 minutes and 38 seconds, readers become privy to Leila’s past memories beginning with her birth to the beautiful friendships she developed along the way that showcase water can be thicker than blood. 

The book is broken into two main parts, with the former focusing on Leila’s life trajectory and the latter on her friends’ grieving her death. I found Part One a bit more captivating while Part Two had more melodrama and elements of absurdity. However, both offer thought provoking scenes and discourse on a variety of topics like class, religion, gender & identity, family, and even the city of Istanbul itself and what it represents over time. 
 
While this may appear like a dark and tense tale at first, it still manages to utilize humor and exude hope. I certainly recommend giving this a read if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction and magical realism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

alyssatuininga's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

What an absolutely beautiful book! I picked this book up as part of my read around the world challenge.  The writing in this book is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are so deep and rich. I will definitely read more of her books. Not many books draw me in from the first line but this one did. I was sad it was over. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Violence