Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Das Flüstern der Feigenbäume by Elif Shafak

66 reviews

laurahartfield's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

4.0

What a rich, beautiful story. Genuinely made all the more poignant because so much of it is related by a fig tree. 

I'm shocked at how ignorant I was about the civil war in Cyprus in the '70s, and this beautiful book sensitively marries history with fiction (and botany!) to paint a heartbreaking but gorgeous picture of an island divided by political turmoil. Defne and Kostas's story is compelling, but it was the unrest, seen largely through its startling effect on the local animals and plants, that really had me hooked. The way a tourist hotspot was so divided so recently in its history is unbelievable.

And while I loved the complexity in all of the characters, it was Yiorgos and Yusuf (as well as the beloved fig tree) who have my heart. Their unwavering strength and love, combined with knowing right away where their story was headed, really got to me. This is one of those books that I suspect will pop into my head at random intervals for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

arshiya_amreen90786's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

shhh_tamis_reading's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I’m so thankful this book was recommended. It’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve read. 

I adored all of the characters, especially the Fig Tree. In fact the chalets narrated by the Fig Tree may be my favorites. The entire book comes together with sacred beauty. 

I also now want to learn more about Cyprus which I was ignorant of before. I appreciate the author’s book list at the back of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wwsimon93's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

watermelleon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? No

5.0

I need to have another cry and talk about this at book club before writing a review here.... I read a huge chunk of this today and it has been nothing but crying my eyes out with little water breaks. my library copy now has mascara smudges on it, nothing I can do about that I guess :s

in short - best book I have read in a long time. it is beautifully written, surprisingly close to home and relatable, generally so informative on topics I new nothing about (that I probably should have!). it has changed my outlook on many perspectives in my life. this is a lifechanging book that I will be recommending to everyone. there are some tough, tough topics but so much hope and nostalgia as well.

on a personal note: This book has allowed me to reflect on my own recently-uprooted family history, and has helped me reflect on that as well the now clear impact of this on my family moving down through the generations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Terminal illness

War Imagery throughout and discussion of death of multiple characters in detail (not graphic in terms of gore, but explains how they died). Colonisation: discussion throughout of colonisation in relation to cyprus and the effects of this, more focussed on the cultural impact than graphic/gore detail. Pregnancy and Children:

a child dies at a young age of malaria, child is assumed for a while to be an abortion.

Terminal Illness:

Main Character's grand parents died as a result of cancer- they were poisoned by asbestos from some overalls used for working in the mines

Sucide / alcohol / drug use:

the main character's mother is revealed to have killed herself, was an alcoholic and took pills to end her life

Mental Illness: many themes of mental illness throughout, especially a big theme of inheriting generational trauma (war related) and how this impacts younger generations the most. Bullying

short scene of bullying in a british school at the beginning of the book

Panic Attacks

short scene of bullying in a british school at the beginning of the book. The main character has a panic attack and screams during her class, an incident which is later discussed.

Homophobia

an interracial gay couple (two men) are kidnapped and killed within context of a war, it is suggested that their sexuality is a part of the attack as well as their conflicting cutural backgrounds

Kidnapping

an interracial gay couple are kidnapped and killed within context of a war, suggested that their sexuality is a part of the attack as well as their conflicting cutural backgrounds

merrynthomas's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-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: War

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Suicide, and Abortion

bobooks02's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Pregnancy, and War

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Abortion, and Pregnancy