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jennazim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, and Murder
nataliaah's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and War
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Torture, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Torture
now_booking's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Like many of Allende’s protagonists, Violeta is born into some privilege. This book spans Violeta’s life from her birth during the emergence of the 1920 flu pandemic, the stock market crash and the Great Depression, through the rise of Naziism, fascism, peasant uprisings, revolution and the legacy of colonialism, Western political influence and dictatorship in Latin America, to the end of her life in 2020’s coronavirus pandemic. While this work of historical fiction is not specifically about these historical events, the dramatic events of her life and her dysfunctional family are greatly influenced by these events and through her story, we get a fresh perspective of what it may have been to love through those times.
This is ultimately a book of an entire life, so there is a lot of sadness and trauma in this that linger especially when one looks back at a lifetime and has experienced the pain of regret and loss. This isn’t a maudlin read, Violeta has a good sense of self irony and is witty and humorous, and is viciously honest even with herself about her own failings, yet the overarching mood of this is sort of sad and reflective. This book addresses themes of neglect and abuse, infidelity, sexual assault, addiction, violence and genocide. If you’ve had experience living under an authoritarian regime and experienced loss through it, this might be somewhat triggering. If you haven’t, this has a lot of loss in it, so gird your loins.
That said, this book is absolutely gorgeous. The writing is fantastic… it reads authentically like an old lady wrote it as her memoir and there are so many points reading this that I stopped to reflect. There were so many points of reflection about relationships, faith, regret, wealth. The story of love and family and found family that is built through this book is so real yet so flawed and because of that compellingly human. The character development is as expected from and Allende novel, great, and even the description of the most mundane aspects of her life was compelling. This would have been a perfect 5 stars for me if not that I think it was at times a bit repetitive in parts and I think in places the story could have moved faster. I think fans of the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will adore this, but I found this to be more encompassing, more meaningful and just… more! I highly highly recommend this!
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Misogyny, Torture, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Abortion, and Colonisation
george_tte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Torture, Dementia, and Fire/Fire injury
darcyjanea's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Police brutality, Dementia, and Death of parent
Minor: Genocide, Rape, Suicide, and Torture
sib_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder and Abortion
franklola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Police brutality, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Violence, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Torture
whitedaylilies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Cancer and Abortion
wylovat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Lesbophobia