Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

18 reviews

sterreg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

This story grabbed me from beginning to end, even though the heaviness of the topic made me take breaks in-between. It tells stories of the goodness between people when we arrive in our darkest hour. About the power of perseverance for our families. It makes us long for the connections around us and value what we have. But it also creates awareness about topics that used to feel so far away. I've felt for these characters, and have grown to remember the smallest details the more I read about them. They felt real and their struggle felt incredibly harsh and unfair.

The change of faith is possible. As long as we follow the road of goodness, strength will find its way. A gorgeous story of family, broken hearts and loss, and how the family bounced back through hardship of a broken country.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

moniipeters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, and War

greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a spectacular book. Its lyrical and breathtaking and sweeping in scope. It taught me I know nothing about the Viet Nam war. It's got all of the depth and sprawl of books like 'Pachinko' and 'Peach Blossom Spring' and the epic staying power of novels like 'Homegoing' and 'Infinite Country' and everything Khaled Hosseini has ever written. It was riveting and searing. 

It could also be frustrating; despite how much I loved the book, I often felt like the characters were almost too naïve deliberately so the author could use them as a mouthpiece for philosophical arguments; i.e. Huong being 15 and not understanding what rape is so that the book can make the argument that no one should be shamed for violence inflicted upon them. There were other instances of this that tested believability, but for me it didn't drag down the impact of the novel. I'd recommend this to anyone and it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf and rotation of revered books. 

Spoiler

I will say that I almost, almost knocked this down one star because I thought it was so unbelievably stupid that Tam's grandfather was Wicked Ghost. That was too much for me, too 'connected', and even though it resolved well, I hated it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

singout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

Powerful story about three generations in North Vietnam: it goes back-and-forth between a young girl’s experience of the end of the Vietnam war, and her grandmother’s survival of the 1940s great hunger and harsh land reform, with the middle generation being portrayed either as children or soldiers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, War, Murder, Gore, Abandonment, and Body horror

lenaschrn's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Cancer, Murder, Alcoholism, Body horror, Terminal illness, War, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility and Toxic friendship

bookswithgeorgia's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War

unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

alexhaydon's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Rape and Alcoholism

satanicangel's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

Weirdly anti communist and dialog heavy, this is an important read for anyone unrealistic with the Vietnamese war being Things That Carried by Obrien. I hope that the perspective of the victims of the war becomes just as popular as the perspective of those occupying Vietnam. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Gore

There are graphic descriptions of incects and rotting bodies

readbym00nlight's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Gun violence, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Cancer, and Alcoholism