Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Blue-Skinned Gods by SJ Sindu

15 reviews

20sidedbi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

viji's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Transphobia, and Grief

nu_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I want to start off by saying that this book delivered a completely different story than what I was expecting via the synopsis. Technically the synopsis was correct in what you described as a story inside the book, but I was definitely expecting more of a contemporary fantasy than contemporary.

Despite the book claiming to span across many times, it is mostly linear safe for a couple of flashbacks and flash forwards in the earlier books. To me the book was more about Kalki and him trying to reconcile with the traumatizing family/father. He was lied to from a very young age, and being told that he had to bear the burden of his parents sacrifices. In a way this coincides with a lot of themes in South Asian culture where we have this fake reverence towards beings that are godlike, but not actually caring about them as individuals. Allowing our ability to put them on a pedestal of reference and divinity to essentially not let us treat them in a respectful and humane manner.

But his horrible person of a father was of course only thinking about himself and of the fortune that he could make. The main themes of this book like religion/seduction of belief is basically told through the trauma that Kalki goes through at the hands of a narcissistic parent who will do anything for power, including but not limited to, marketing a blue baby as a god too desperate worshipers and forcing his family to play along because he prefers to manipulate people into furthering his own agenda and his own plan (one that is very flimsy upon close inspection).

It's a disturbingly beautiful book, with the writing style so simple yet loud and incisive. It's essentially Kalki retelling his story, looking back at his time at the ashram with nostalgia and bringing us into the crux of his naivity during his childhood. It really forces you to think about how badly people want to believe in something (not necessarily just religion), and even after the "illusion" falls how there will still be people choosing to believe in the lie because it brings them comfort and is better than confronting their entire worldview falling apart.

It's a heavy book, especially in the child/domestic abuse area, so I encourage anyone who's not in the best place mentally to tread lightly. But if you're able to read the book I wholeheartedly reccomend it!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Kidnapping and Cultural appropriation

renniewest's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

3.0

i have mixed feelings about this book. it explores very a interesting concept of a child being manipulated into thinking he is a god, and it also explores questions of belief, faith, and the varieties of people with different types of beliefs. this book introduces some very meaningful conversations but i don’t know if any of them are done justice. 

the abuse and manipulation kalki endures is very impactful, and it’s understandable that this would affect him as an adult when he realizes what he’s been through, but the book ends leaving kalki in a perpetual state of traumatized. i wanted better closure for him, and if i’m going to be honest he disappointed me in the end. i also really wanted him to give lakshman a big fuck you in the end, so that was really disappointing. 

i also don’t like the attitude with which believers are depicted in many scenes, either with pity as victims of manipulation or blind idiots. i really don’t know what this book was trying to say. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Grief

sknappy1's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Animal death and Vomit

racheloddment's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, and Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Thanks to Libro FM for the free copy of this book.

 - BLUE SKINNED GODS takes its time unraveling it's story, but my goodness, is it worth it. This book is beautiful, enraging, heartbreaking, joyful, and so much more.
- Even when I thought I knew exactly where Kalki's story was going, there's a major plot twist I did not see coming.
- The audiobook, narrated by Varun Sathi, is an immersive experience. I felt like I was right there in Kalki's head, trying to work everything out with him. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

What drew me to this book was the premise, which is that the protagonist, Kalki, was raised in a way that he was believed to be a god due to his blue skin. Over time, though, various events lead to him questioning the validity of his god status. Perhaps not surprisingly, this also results in significant consequences, which Sintu divides into four sections.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. There were a lot of interesting ideas and themes, especially this conflict of truths and lies, as well as desires and obligations, as well as touching on issues of the caste system, tourism, queerness, among others. It didn’t feel as cohesive as it could have been, though, and I think what affected this was the pacing of the book. I found the first section dreadfully boring, but things started picking up in the second and third sections, diving deep into an interesting, almost psychoanalytic exploration of deception and manipulation in Kalki’s life. I was hopeful for the fourth and last section, as a result, only to be disappointed by the way things were hastily wrapped up. It felt as though too much was happening and, as a result, the book was barely holding it together by the end. I honestly finished the book with more questions than anything.

There was a lot of potential in this novel and I really enjoyed the ideas and writing, but the execution made it difficult for me to actually enjoy this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer, Self harm, and Kidnapping

kirstym25's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Grief

ahliahreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Suicide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol