Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

L'arbre du mal by Tana French

20 reviews

mihrreader's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

Man, I'll be frank, this book messed me up. It is, as they'd say, "a real headwrecker." It is decidedly not a cozy mystery, nor is it sensationalized in the way much popular true crime tends to be. This book is unflinchingly human, extremely down to Earth, and hard to read. I feel the same way about this story as I did several cases I worked when I was assigned to the Cold Cases unit of the DA's Office:  it's sad and it sucks and there's nothing you can do about it other than watch it unfold. When I say "it sucks," that is by no means a reflection on the plot or storytelling, both are excellent; Tana French is an extremely skilled writer.

Having Toby as the narrator makes this book so much of a mindfuck, because he's an extremely unreliable narrator because of his brain injury. While Toby questions himself, his character, and his memory, it kind of forces the reader to ponder the same questions. I cannot recommend this book if you grapple with memory issues, questions of identity, and/or depression. It'll absolutely exacerbate those feelings. The ending is far from happy. It left me with a very diminished sense of the world, of lingering diffuse sadness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

wildhorses's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

hdunscombe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Dementia, and Grief

Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Dysphoria

someryarns's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Alcohol

gracehourigan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

A little slower than most of French’s other books but it definitely broke the mold of what I was expecting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Hate crime, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

rae69's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

2.5

honestly this book felt like watching multiple cars crash into each other but you are forced to look anyway 

and I know it's not true but books like this kinda feel like they are made for people who have nothing else to worry about 

but I also read this feeling not that great anyway

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Terminal illness

dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Self harm

rebcamuse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I think I came to this with unfair bias. My only previous experience with French's work was The Searcher, which I read in 2022, and I enjoyed. That is more of a traditional mystery, whereas this is more of a character study/novel (it does in fact say "a novel" on the front cover)? I also think I might have been better served by the print version as I found Paul Nugent's performance in the audiobook rather overwrought.

All that said, it doesn't help that the protagonist (and the vast majority of the characters) is just not that likeable. Toby is "always lucky" we are told, and he and his buddies, Sean and Declan, are hyper-masculine clichés, steeped in bro culture that is magnified in a seemingly endless scene at a pub between the three of them. Likewise, Toby's two closest cousins, Leon and Susannah, also don't have much going for them as characters. As read by Nugent, Leon is a whiny prat with a huge chip on his shoulder. In the case of this character, there is much in his backstory that makes him more sympathetic, but we don't get to any of that until much later in the book. The only two characters who seem to have any redeeming qualities are Uncle Hugo and Melissa (although I found Nugent's voicing of her to be absolutely cloying in places--California valley girl meets Irish damsel in distress).

As far as pacing goes, I feel that I must take responsibility for the fact that I was hoping for a more traditional mystery, and I was distracted in the first hour or so of listening because I kept trying to figure out a) why no one had died yet and b) who it was going to be. Well, someone does die, but it is actually a minor plot point by the time we start to understand that this book is an attempt to investigate the darkness of the human soul. There are a LOT of very lengthy trips down memory lane -- between the guys, between the cousins--not all of them necessary, lingering on boyish pranks and other foolish behavior. And LOTS of time sitting around getting drunk and wasted. I did end up appreciating what first seems to be Toby's luck coming to an end, as it was a well-crafted diversion (but not quite a diversion).

If you are looking for a more traditional whodunnit, this is not that. French's writing is descriptive and charged, enough for me to stick with it when I started to tire of everyone whining. Uncle Hugo's freelance work is interesting, and occasionally French peppers in some interesting historical tidbits and the like. A small point, but I was a bit surprised to hear Uncle Hugo quote Virgil as an example of the ancient *Greeks* believing that the witch elm stood at the gates of Hell. Splitting hairs, perhaps, but it was implied that Virgil was Greek.

I tried to evaluate it on its own merits rather than expectations I should not have had of the book. If you are a fan of French's mysteries, just understand that this is a very different creature. If you enjoy slow plots, psychological study, and an occasional plot twist, this might very well be a great book for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lay_kone's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

stjohnswarts's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

This book is dark, even for Tana French - particularly the ending. Her books rarely have happy endings but man. She’s great at writing hugely unlikeable characters and then throwing so much shit at them that by the end you just feel sorry for them more than anything else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail