Reviews tagging 'Racism'

All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac

13 reviews

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

I have to admit I found this book, particularly as an audiobook, a tad dull. It’s very much tell and no show, full of mostly dialogue and ‘action’ (such as it is), without much insight into the characters’ inner lives or motivations. This is most likely since it’s told from the POV of a child, Eddie, a Syilx boy growing up in the 50s. Isaac explores the lives of Indigenous people through Eddie’s eyes - precarious work, addiction, racism, lack of care from the government for their basic necessities. But the story kind of just plods along, lacking a pull. This changed at the ending - that ending did have my heart in my throat.

As the title suggests, definitely a quiet but heavy read, and perhaps audio wasn’t the best route. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, and Colonisation

sabrinaleaf's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

2.5 ⭐️ 
I dont know the point of the story was 😭. It felt like we were passing from one thing to another without giving it much time and I quickly got lost. It got to the point that I didn’t even know the characters ages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

mahalar's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Car accident

erks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, and Bullying

Minor: Miscarriage

stasiana's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Classism

jouljet's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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: Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

franksreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

taryndeanne's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation

zee's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Set in the 50s through 60s, this is a coming of age novel of a boy living on a reserve in the Okanagan Valley in BC, with all the hardships, complications, and trauma that come with it. 

The adult characters may be difficult to relate to, but you get a sense of the many driving factors behind their decisions and their impact on Eddie. All of the characters are wildly complicated, as a result of many different hardships.

I understand why it was longlisted for both Canada Reads 2022 and the 2022 Giller Prize, as well as being a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. It's very well-written, and hard to believe that it is a debut of the author. 

This is a very heavy book, though it sneaks up on you; lulling you in with mild optimism when Eddie is young. Be mindful of content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide

pixieprose's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

I don't normally dislike books I read, but I didn't like this book. The writing is very good, the author is definitely talented, but the story is a huge bummer, and the cast is truly unlikable. 

Entirely too much death of children and animals. Does give some insight into tribal affairs in the US and Canada, but the same can be said for books that are more pleasant to read. 

I'm not saying this a bad book, I'm just saying that it was not to my taste and I didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as I had hoped. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicide