Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Gesang der Fledermäuse by Olga Tokarczuk

18 reviews

breadbummer's review against another edition

funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Can we please get more books narrated by weird old women??? Because of this type of main character, I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. I'll admit, it did seem kind of slow to me in some parts but, even at these sections, just like with Duszejko's love of astrology, paying attention to the tiniest details is key to figuring out what's going on. I definitely had my suspicions as the book progressed, but I was still glued to the page when everything was revealed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

suzyq's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I saw the reveal coming from the first body. The story dragged in many places and there wasn't a twist to speak of but the characters were all more or less interesting. The prose was well done. I can't speak to the accuracy of the horoscopes being shown but I suppose it doesn't matter if I believe it, so long as  Duszejko does.

You can also track the pattern you believe to be real when you are the one making sure a person dies on the specific day their horoscope tells you.

I do wish there was a bit more sleuthing involved but the experience was still relatively enjoyable. Give yourself time to actually enjoy the story but don't expect a fast-past gorefest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

As the main character and narrator of this darkly funny novel, Mrs. Duszejko steals the show.  A fierce old woman who lives alone in a house on a remote Polish plateau, she has a big personality as an eccentric astrologer, vegetarian, non-Catholic, and translator of William Blake.  She patrols the area surrounding her home daily and has a few, select friends.  After her neighbor, “Bigfoot,” is found dead, a series of deaths unfolds, but no one will hear her theories about stags and stars.  Ultimately, this is a story of a woman in a significant amount of grief.  Beata Poźniak’s narration is exemplary—just perfect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

chris_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Medical content

horizonous's review against another edition

mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.0

Great sense of place, interesting main character, but I just didn't care about the horoscope passages or William Blake's poetry and to me it was also very obvious where the story is going. However, this won't be my last book by Olga Tokarczuk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Vomit, and Death of parent

◦ Medical content = Dentistry
◦ Mental illness = Depression
.. and some passages about insects

neens_library's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Minor: Vomit and Grief

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

This was definitely a weird one for me. It was recommended to me because the old woman is a curmudgeon which is true and I do technically love a curmudgeon. But I’m thinking maybe it just didn’t translate for me into English from Czech? The old woman’s eccentricities I think were what ended up kind of putting me off the book. Her belief in astrology and palm reading and such were just too out there for me. But she does get sweet vengeance in the end so I’m glad I finished it and didn’t just give up on it. But definitely only recommending to friends who love Czech literature and astrology 😝

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

sydneybedell's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

As soon as I heard the lines “he must have mercury in a reticent sign. I reckon it must be Capricorn in a square or may be in opposition to Saturn. It could also be mercury in retrograde.” I knew I’d be hooked. I think I’ll have to give this one a re-read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Vomit