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iammmartina_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, and Deportation
anna_pearl's review against another edition
1.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Child death
saint_eleanor'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? Yes
4.75
The story takes place in the possibly unreal village of Primeval and follows a number of different residents through their 'times' as they grow old and die and are born all set during pre/during/post WWII. It has heavy themes of survival and loneliness and like focusing on the small things people cling to when they start to witness their own mortality.
I particularly loved the story of Cornspike & Ruta, and the old woman Florentynka. I also really liked the 'game' which was pretty much just an analysis of faith and god.
I think I liked the first 3/4 of the book way more than the last quarter, possibly because the last quarter was just so bleak. If you liked Lapvona you might like this.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Rape and War
currantcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Antisemitism
Minor: Ableism, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
zazreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A portrayal of the futility of human mortality.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism
Minor: Mental illness
sunnybopeep's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Xenophobia, and War
If you’re bad with WWII stuff, maybe you shouldn’t read this tho.morning_sky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, and War
Moderate: Death and Rape
Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse
adaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol
It's a lil heavy. Read it. It's amazing.joshhornbeck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is an absolute masterpiece. A series of small vignettes that all take place in the same small Polish village (and its surrounding areas), the novel follows three generations of the village’s inhabitants as they survive war and occupation, get married and have children, and learn what it means to live and move through this broken and miraculously beautiful world. There are gorgeous movements into myth and magical realism, where the trees become characters, the dead march through the village, and angels guard our protagonists. And there are moments of brutally realistic violence and assault as the novel explores what it means to be a country that have been occupied over the years by different invading armies. It effortlessly captures the passage of time - how swift and steady it is, how you’re a child one moment and an old man the next. And there is so much here about faith and gender roles and our relationship to the earth and our rootedness to place… I feel like I could only begin to scratch the surface here. This is an outstanding novel - one of my favorite books of the year. And it’s one I certainly need to return to.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
sourryebread'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, and War