Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Violeta by Isabel Allende

23 reviews

jamieclower's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Death, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Police brutality, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Drug use, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Addiction, Violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Cancer

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.25

 The cover says it all really - “One extraordinary woman. One hundred years of history. One unforgettable history. “ Violeta del Valle was born in Chile in 1920 at the peak of the Spanish ‘flu outbreak. One hundred years later, in the midst of another pandemic, she is dying and recording her story in a letter to her beloved grandson, Camilo. And what a life she led full of highs and lows - riches to rags and back again, marriages and affairs, some good, others bad. She was a woman who refused to be tied down by the social mores of the day, and lived her life large, for better or for worse. She’s got some regrets but she’s mostly unapologetic about the choices she made. Violeta’s story unfolds against some key historical events including the Great Depression, World War II, earthquakes and a military dictatorship rife with human rights abuses. Allende’s storytelling was top-notch as expected, and I had to remind myself a couple of times that I was not listening to a real person telling me their life story. I listened to the audio and the narrator did a fabulous job, which I’m sure enhanced my enjoyment. I was absorbed from beginning to end and flew through it, finding plenty of excuses to keep listening. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Addiction

kryskross's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Police brutality, and Infidelity

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Terminal illness

chb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, War, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

kwahl's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Dementia, War, Domestic abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was my book club's choice for March.  I love historical fiction, and this didn't disappoint.  I was also happy to read another Allende book that held my interest.  After reading The Long Petal of the Sea, I wasn't too sure about the author's work.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Addiction, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Sexism

nataliaah's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: War, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Cancer, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Torture, and Genocide

beyreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.0

There’s a time to live and a time to die. In between there’s time to remember.

All I can think about is, it must be tiring to live that long.

I would recommend this book to hisfic enjoyers because in no way it is bad, but I can’t say I actually enjoyed reading this. I suspect it was because it is written in first person, but it can also be the writing.

I was not looking forward to what will happen next in the story because I am… afraid??? An understatement. Terrified??? Of what things will a character do to escalate the story because boy, do they escalated quickly.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Child death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Addiction

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual content, Cancer, Suicide, Police brutality, and Infidelity

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Suicide, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual violence

sofipitch's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This book holds a lot of similarities to The House of the Spirits, and a lot of Allende's other books tbh. She doesn't name the country the MC is in but it is very clearly Chile, so we get the history of Childe in the 20th century from a european descendended once wealthy family. The book even suggests that Violeta is related to the family from Allende's first book. But the characters aren't well developed, the story isn't as interesting, it's overall a mediocre book from an author who I know has written better and more interesting works. Additionally while I could tolerate the occasional socially unconcious phrase or word or sentiment in her older works, in a book published in 2022 I feel like Allende should know better, or that at least her editor or publisher would have said something, since Allende is considered to be liberal and willing to learn/update her beliefs (Although maybe not, I read the synopsis of Ines of my soul and went 😬 and put it back)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, War, Violence, and Sexual violence