Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

15 reviews

theglossreview's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

Atrocious. “The Shadow of the Wind“ is nothing but a series of horrible events. The plot seems like a competition between the characters: “Whose misfortune is the worst?”

There is barely a content warning to be found that does not apply to this book. The story is full of graphic portrayals of all kinds of violence and abuse. None of the characters are likeable. In the case of “The Shadow of the Wind“, this is a blessing, since everything that happens to the characters is bad. 

The sexism and misogyny is blatant throughout the book. It would have been one thing to portray these as part of the era in  which the book is set, but “The Shadow of the Wind” contains multiple characters whose only role is to enact and spew sexist, misogynist poison. This is taken so far that several characters introduce themselves through bigoted statements, as if this philosophy was the most important and first thing you need to know about them. This book does not pass the Bechdel test. The book is barely worthy of the phrase “portrayal of women”, since there are only portrayals of objects of desire, self-sacrificial lovers and devout mothers. 

Before you read this book, please take a look at the content warnings to see how vile it is. I’m shocked and disappointed to see that the average rating is above 4 stars. The content of the book deserves zero stars, however, the well-constructed mystery and beautiful writing elevate it to 2 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, War, and Classism

msapocalypse's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. There are some wonderful small observations throughout, but I didn't find most of the characters or the actual plot to pull me in as much as they wanted to. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gillian_aftanas's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Abortion

jackbifrost's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dreamerfreak's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cooldudenick's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Classism

corrin_takara's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

At times was a struggle to read partly because of the slow pace as well as a long list of possible triggering topics which lead to hard to read passages. Picked up towards the end and grabbed my attention with a satisfying twist 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, and Fire/Fire injury

vilde_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

It took a couple of chapters getting into it, but in return, there were several chapters I just had to complete no matter time or place. If you like books about books, you’ll love this!

Read while listening to “Øyeblikke Vi Husker” by Hvalfugl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Minor: Incest, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

amhud1030's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment

ka_cam's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-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

I read this while I was sick with covid which maybe impacted my experience, but I didn’t love it. It was too slow and exposition-heavy to be a compelling mystery for me, and the constant misogyny and violence against women characters (and their flatness in development) was a big turn-off for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail