Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Abyss

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Abyss by Pilar Quintana

22 reviews

abbie_'s review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this sad little book, I’m a sucker for a mental health narrative. This one is told through the eyes of a child, eight-year-old Claudia who lives with her parents in Colombia. Though she continually watches her parents, her mother who suffers from depression, and her overworked father, she often doesn’t fully grasp the complexity of the adults’ lives around her - but she understands enough. The depiction of depression and suicidal tendencies in this book are brutal, so do look after yourself if you read it, but it’s so well done. The imagery of that cliff road with the fog and the steep drop-off - glorious. Your heart will break for Claudia, ten times over, during the course of this book.

Excellent translation by Lisa Dillman

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ju_harue's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Achei a escrita poderosamente bem narrada, mesclando entre uma visão infantil mais descritivamente "simples" e a complexidade das emoções e acontecimentos que vão impactando a vida e crescimento de Claudia. Com assuntos bem fortes, a vida acontecendo da perspectiva da criança é potente, os abismos presentes e pertinentes. Termino essa leitura com um misto de emoções, que vão de uma "coisa gostosa na barriga e o medo, a vontade de pular e de recuar".

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shankarhere's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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muyteli's review against another edition

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dark tense

5.0

Eight-year-old Claudia is one of the most captivating narrators I've read in a while. Her descriptions are imaginative, often delightful and sometimes heartbreaking. She understands the lives of the adults around her far better than she gets credit for and broaches grown-up topics in a very matter-of-fact, yet revealing way.

Her fears about her parents — that there's a darkness to her father she doesn't know because he's always working and has little to say when he is around, and that her mother's depression will push her over the edge (literally) — are heightened when the family stays at a friend’s house in the mountains for a stretch of time.

That whole section of the book is dizzying in its descriptions of steep roads, dense fog and, of course, the cliff that gives way to the deep, dark abyss. Adding to the delirium is Claudia's deepened fixation on death and the dead as her feelings of isolation and fears about her parents build. I would recommend this book based on this section alone, but really the entire story is superbly crafted. I'll be thinking about Claudia for a long time.

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anna_pardo's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

M'ha agradat moltíssim. Ha estat molt interessant veure no només una crisi matrimonial, sinó una d'existencial, a través de la mirada d'una nena. Una nena que acaba construïnt el seu món a través de pèrdues, morts, silencis, absències i abismes.

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mirva's review against another edition

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reflective

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

4.5

This story is masterfully told entirely from the perspective of a young child. The writer captures the inner voice of a child incredibly well, while the world of the adults in the narrator's life is the focus of the story. It's a short, captivating read.

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