Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

29 reviews

epanama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Excrement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Genocide

oatmilktea's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

The Vaster Wilds is a well-written story about survival and death and questioning one's faith as well as place in a cruel and beautiful world. It was a sensory, visceral experience, sometimes a little too graphic for what I can stomach but granted, I'm a little squeamish (definitely check the content warnings!).

I preferred the second half to the first, since the second has most of the character development and insight into what happened at the fort. This book might have worked without some of the parts about sheer survival and travel, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys a truly gritty and unfiltered tale exploring some of the bigger questions in life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Suicide

Further content warnings: maggots, starvation, fatigue, delirium, disease

_verena_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lindsayerin's review

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Murder

sydresnik's review

adventurous dark

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, and Colonisation

ciwanski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Men drop acid once when they’re 23 and come up with 1/4 of the revelations this girl had alone and starving at 16 (or is it 17? or 18?).

I wasn’t expecting to be so affected by the ending of this book, but I couldn’t help but cry. This was so beautifully written.

So many wonderful quotes and written words to silent questions and revelations I’ve had myself. 

One of my favorite quotes, “But now she sensed the earth under her in its spin and knew herself to be a piece of it, necessary and large enough.”

I believe I will be thinking about this one for a long time. 

*original review 4.5 stars*

**addition to original review**
It’s been a couple of months since finishing this book now, and I have not stopped thinking about it. I originally rated the book 4.5 stars, and in retrospect I cannot think why I knocked it down a half star. Every day I think about it, the better it gets. Definitely a favorite read of the year!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mrsjburgin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

peytonktracy's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

That was a long, slow, gut punch in the absolute best way. Like, ouch, oof, but also wow. The prose is absolutely stunning. How immersive the world we observe with the girl is shocking. It’s gritty and painful and brutal and gorgeous and ethereal and wonderful and terrible. While it felt like it dragged on in the beginning, the satisfaction at the end was worth it. An honor to share this pain through the poetry of the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

airrhodes's review

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Every once in a while - I can probably count them on one hand - I read a book that is so gorgeous and perfect, I wish I could have written it. This is such a book. Absolutely spectacular, from the plot and character to the historical authenticity, raw and respectful and feminist and heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

valjeanval's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Look, Lauren Groff is a master of craft. Powerful, immersive, vivid imagery and a haunting storyline that looks at colonialism at the most intimate level. While story-wise, I didn't enjoy it as much as Matrix or Fates and Furies, it's so well-written I could never give it less than five stars. I'd advise readers to check trigger warnings if those are important to them and maybe don't read this if you're looking for a cheerful pick-me-up or are about to go camping, but otherwise, this is worth your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault and Murder