Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Le crépuscule et l'aube by Ken Follett

11 reviews

jlongo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

turidt's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Excrement, Dementia, and Fire/Fire injury

goldenlake's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Cursing, Genocide, Infertility, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

ahinks's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Trafficking, Grief, Gaslighting, and War

nadia's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I'm loving the concept of this series — books tied not by characters but by a fictional place! You get a little bit of a history lesson it too, with this one taking me back to the Dark Ages.

I read The Pillars of the Earth at the end of last year and decided to go for the prequel next (not in publication order, which is normally my jam, but I'm sure that's fine, given it's a prequel of what I just read!).

The Evening and the Morning was great! I very quickly became invested in the different characters' stories, and I love me a lot of political intrigue. Well done Ken Follett for making me care about bishops, monks, and Catholic churches!

There were moments where I felt the pace lagged a little and the plot points felt a little bit repetitive. I also wasn't as emotionally invested as I thought I would be come the later sections given how it all started. 

But all in all, a great read! Love getting immersed in a chunky book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol

sirius_feanor's review against another edition

2.75

It was rather a captivating story. But the amount of rape and misogyny in it was almost off putting. I understand it was for "historical accuracy" or whatever, but still yikes. 

The sex scenes are one of the worst I've ever read! And most of them are told from a female point of view. They are so obviously written by a male it's just ridiculous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

vibrantautumn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed the other books in this series, and this book was no exception, and no different. At all. The characters and plot were the same as in previous books. Nevertheless, I was hooked halfway through. I had hoped that this book wouldn’t feature women being raped, but of course that was there just like everything else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War

kylieqrada's review against another edition

emotional relaxing sad slow-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

3.5

3.5 ⭐s. Not the best way to start off 2022, but I'll take it. I've read both of Ken Follett's sweeping historical epic series, and while my heart belongs to the Century Trilogy, the Pillars of the Earth is a very strong story as well. I do think that this entry added something to the saga, and it was fascinating to dive even deeper into history, this time into the Dark Ages, and see the beginnings of Kingsbridge. These books are a quiet comfort reading experience for me, which is weird to say because of my main critique of this book. I think that all of the misogyny, sexual assault, rape, slavery, abuse, homophobia, etc., while perhaps historically accurate, did get a little overwhelming and even gratuitous. I don't love trauma for trauma's sake.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility and Grief

carolined's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

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

3.0

If you've ever read any Ken Follett you know how it goes, the heroes are well meaning, ambitious and hopelessly naive; the villains are ruthless and cunning and unbeatable until the very end. The author does a lot of research and makes sure the reader knows it, I enjoyed the details of everyday life much more than the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism

crystalmethany's review against another edition

emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility and Grief