Reviews tagging 'Murder'

El viento conoce mi nombre by Isabel Allende, Isabel Allende

17 reviews

boxcar's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

4.5

A soul crushing examination of the horrors and trauma of the loss of parents. Allende connects a jewish child whose parents were murdered by Nazis with a Salvadorian girl who is separated inhumanly from her mother at the US border, never to see her again. Human cruelty and the way marginalized groups are treated are forefront. I think that Allende went a little overboard with the different perspectives, and while none are first-person or totally confined to one person, there are like four different perspective chapters, it got a little confusing. When all of the different perspectives converged, it made it worth it, but for the first 100 or so pages it felt disjointed. I really enjoyed this book and the overwhelmingly compassionate approach Allende has towards humanity. Through her fiction, this book included, she shines a light on various injustices to humans, many of which I am blind to as a white man living in Pennsylvania.

Allende is my favorite author, I think that's clear at this point. I would like to outline some gripes I have with her though, present in this book but also throughout her work.

- pedophilia and sexual abuse of children is present in nearly all of her works. This isn't to say she glorifies it! The abuse is heinous and is written in no vague terms as evil and disgusting. I think stuff like this needs to make you uncomfortable, and it certainly does! Isabel Allende was sexually assaulted by a man as a child, and I can't imagine the trauma that entails, and I don't doubt that is a huge factor in its prevalence in her works. One of my favorite thing about her as an author is how much her characters and stories are infused with her voice, her life. Reading Paula and some interviews really gave me a different understanding of her fiction, so many parallels between life and writing. As a reader, I just want one or two books where she doesn't include child sexual abuse. As an author, she can write whatever the hell she wants, and I love her for doing just that. Ya dig?

- so many characters cheat! I know monogamy isn't some morally righteous position, and it isn't something that a "good" person needs to exemplify. It's just hard for me to like a character that is virtuous in all regards except for being unfaithful to a partner. Allende herself has been open about her own infidelity/affairs, and like every other part of her and her life it finds its way into her fiction. It's often more nuanced than a man or woman simply cheating for the sake of cheating, and love strikes quickly and doesn't take heed of societal expectations, at least in the world of Allende. I suppose that gets to the core of the matter. I love how Allende portrays love as visceral, impassioned and inevitable. It's a force to be reckoned with in her fiction: her romances are more profound to me than any other author, a big part of my love for Allende. So I get behind that love, feel it and then there's infidelity! Again, it's not a bad thing, and she's absolutely smashing it at making me feel complicated emotions. It's just sometimes disappointing, you know? But, that's life. Not a critique of Allende of an author, but rather me as a reader, I suppose. 

(I hope no one reads these, I kinda write them without considering it's public.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, and Death

lovelyoutliers's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

A beautiful, empathetic story weaving together experiences of family separation and tragedy separated by half a century - a young boy (Samuel) sent on the kinder transport after Kristallnacht on the kindertransport trains and a young girl (Anita) who was separated from her mother at the US-Mexico border. 

Sensitively weaving stories of loss, the obstacles people will face to find safe places, and how families can be built in many different ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, Violence, War, and Trafficking

cbarcenam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Death, Murder, and Rape

notsogabbygabby's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Deportation, Pedophilia, Racism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, and Child abuse

rani's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Trafficking, Stalking, Sexual assault, Deportation, Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Genocide, and Car accident

rei_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism and Genocide

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Car accident, Terminal illness, and Child death

achubb's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation, Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Genocide

Minor: Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pedophilia

kathyovalle01's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, War, Murder, Genocide, Deportation, Child death, Violence, Misogyny, and Antisemitism

flowerrunner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

4.0

I read this book in Spanish and found it to be a page turner at the same time as it feeling tedious in parts. 

I think the issue could be that somewhere between 60 and 80 percent it feels very drawn out, followed by a hastier end.

It feels a little odd to draw parallels between the holocaust and the situation at the Mexican border, but this may be because I'm Austrian and pretty traumatized by what happened in my country of birth (I have lived in North America for decades now.). The way these two stories met at the end just didn't seem important enough to base a whole book on its premise.

Overall, the book is very engaging, and I'd recommend it - I enjoyed the character driven approach. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Car accident, Child abuse, War, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Body horror, Deportation, Domestic abuse, and Genocide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, Excrement, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, and Body shaming

katypicken's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this more than I did. it's a compelling and important story, but I never felt close to any of the characters, although I did sympathise with them. I think it was the style of writing - very much "telling" rather than "showing". I don't remember feeling that about any of Allende's other books - I wonder if the fact this is a translation makes a difference?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Deportation

Moderate: Racism, Murder, and Gun violence

Minor: Car accident