Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende, Isabel Allende

30 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This gets an extra star exclusively for the fact that the man whose life this book was based on died 6 days before Allende could give him the final manuscript and tell him she dedicated it to him. The main plot of this book is the long and painful lives of Victor and Roser. The background of their lives includes the Spanish Civil war and political unrest in Chile. Unfortunately this book is boring. Because it never settles on a time period and elaborates on feelings and growth of the main characters, this story falls flat for me. The characters are flawed (as most people are) but, they spend almost no time ruminating or atoning for things like cheating or lying. I just couldn't bring myself to care about anyone or anything in this book. Allende is a beautiful writer I just think this is a boring story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

maevebm's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Another beautiful story. This serves as a reminder of the pointlessness of war and violence, yet demonstrates the resiliency and determination of humanity. The characters were independent and flawed, and their interactions with one another felt genuine. As always, Allende’s prose flowed and felt like a friend recounting memories. What made this book so special, was knowing how closely Allende’s and her family’s history so close echo it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, War, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Child death and Terminal illness

Minor: Medical content and Pregnancy

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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? No

4.25

Title: A Long Petal of the Sea
Author: Isabel Allende
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: May 21, 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Powerful • Beautiful • Profound

📖 S Y N O P S I S

In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow, who finds her life intertwined with that of Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them desires.

Together with two thousand other refugees, Roser and Victor embark for Chile on the SS Winnipeg, a ship chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda: "the long petal of sea and wine and snow." As unlikely partners, the couple embraces exile as the rest of Europe erupts in world war. Starting over on a new continent, they face trial after trial, but they will also find joy as they patiently await the day when they might go home. Through it all, their hope of returning to Spain keeps them going. Destined to witness the battle between freedom and repression as it plays out across the world, Roser and Victor will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Isabel Allende is an author whose books I've heard wonderful things about, yet have still never read. It made complete sense to include her on my 'Author Taste Test' challenge for 2023, especially since A Long Petal of the Sea already sat unread on my shelf. Allende embarks on the ambitious task of telling such a grand tale, and yet she does so with historical accuracy and poignant prose.

Spanning decades, continents, and the lives of many characters, this novel took me through the history of both Spain and Chile in the 20th century. With beautiful writing and impeccably crafted, Allende has weaved together love, war, family, and the search for belonging. I love historical fiction for many reasons, but mostly for gaining knowledge about past events I may know little about. This one definitely broaden my understanding and has encouraged me to seek out more diverse historical fiction, beyond WWI and WWII.

While there are many characters in this book, it is really Victor and Roser's story. Forced into an unconventional union they face many challenges yet remain hopeful. Their characters are so beautifully developed, where the reader is privy to their story layer upon layer and I was along for the heartbreaking ride.

This may have been my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last. I look forward to exploring her backlist, as well as seeing what future projects she writes. And again I must take a moment to acknowledge the stunning cover. The colours, the gold detailing, even the font - all of it is just gorgeous.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• historical fiction lovers
• readers looking for diverse historical fiction
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is optional."

"Our land only rewards those who work hard in it."

"Poetry is what stays in your head and isn’t forgotten." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Terminal illness

karimari237's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Isabel Allende has such an incredible writing style and every character in this novel felt real even if it was hard to believe the main characters realistically would’ve survived everything they went through 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia

mesulkin's review

adventurous reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

ka_cam's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative 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? It's complicated

3.75

following a Spanish family as they flee the Spanish civil war to Chile, the Chile to Venezuela, then back to Chile. Slower moving plot and I thought more could have been done with the politics and reflections of the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, War, and Injury/Injury detail

deenmachine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

An incredibly well-researched historical fiction that follows the characters through their lifetime. I have read other critiques that say the book is too much telling, not enough showing, and I agree that the language can be a bit rote at times, like "this happened. She felt this way." I forgave it because there's so much that happens in this book that it's almost necessary, and the characters are compelling enough to keep you drawn in. The last couple pages had one of the more thoughtful and touching portraits of grief I've read in a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Torture, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death and Grief

bridgetkay's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Allende handled the historical context well, deftly placing her protagonists as Catalan refugees from the Spanish civil war who establish a new home in Chile, only for that to result in a dictatorship also. However, the setting is not the focus of the novel, with relationships being what anchors this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

bluejupiter1818's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Colonisation, and Classism