eve81's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, War, Racism, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
strabbyfieldz's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
2.0
i would've adored this book were it not for the bit about América Vicuña and all the other uncomfortable or wrong elements like the racism (I could be wrong but man, some of the descriptions of the Black characters felt anti-Black and also one of the main protags was like fairly racist???). Regardless of messaging or whatever with América, it felt pointless, uncomfortable as heck and rendered the touching(??) love story of the main protagonists much less easy to root for freely.
Graphic: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, War, Racism, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, Animal death, Dementia, and Misogyny
readwhileitrains's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Suicide
smallredboy's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
I hated this book. I truly cannot understate how much I hated this book. If it wasn't a mandatory reading for Spanish, I would've ditched it at about 10%. I can't stress enough how much I hated this book. Not one of the characters was likeable, the narration was as stretched out as possible, each description of each house and each outfit making me slowly go insane. The plot had some semblance of interest to it, but everything about it was ruined by the last few pages and the cheesy fucking ending.
I was going to give this book a gentle 2 to 3 starts before it's just dropped 80% into the book that the male protagonist, Florentino Ariza,. I got so angry at this that I had to finish the book, so I wouldn't have to deal with it tomorrow. Fuck this book.
I was going to give this book a gentle 2 to 3 starts before it's just dropped 80% into the book that the male protagonist, Florentino Ariza,
Spoiler
is sleeping with a fourteen-year-old who he's supposed to be a mentor to and who is RELATED TO HIM.Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Incest, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia
Minor: War, Violence, Murder, and Homophobia
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