Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

13 reviews

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book explores the difficulty of trying or wanting to try to do good in this world, and the darker sides of ordinary people (and not-so-ordinary). I really enjoyed most of it - the writing is very good and the characters well built, and it takes some sharp twists. I'm not sure how I felt about the ending,

it's very brutal though I think purposefully so to make a point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Medical content

bookbanshee's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A Shakespearean tragedy told in Austenian internal dialogue by a cast of flawed and largely unlikeable characters — not least because of this being an overwhelmingly white cast playing out their dramas and fantasies of climate apocalypse and hero narratives/saviour complexes on stolen land in colonial-settler New Zealand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cultural appropriation

Minor: Cancer, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

nreyno's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug use, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

velvet_young's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

katariinak's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

isabellew27's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

Well-written but way too much detailed character development and too little plot development/action. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Classism

saltycoffee's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship