Reviews tagging 'Death'

Songbirds: From the author of the international bestseller The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

11 reviews

starlight_1313's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Death

caitlinjenk's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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? No

3.5

Songbirds is the story of Nisha, a migrant maid in Cyprus who goes missing, told from the POV of her employer and her lover. This book was an exploration of the treatment of female domestic migrant workers who are largely ignored and invisible, some even abused and mistreated by their employers. Based on a real-life disappearance, it was truly a beautifully written story, however it’s not a book that can be enjoyed. It is cruel and sad in equal measures. 

I found this read to be insightful and eye opening, however, considering the story is about the lives of the maids I found it completely lacking in feeling with no POV from the actual women affected. While we do get insights into Nisha’s life from Petra and Yiannis, by not hearing from Nisha we have no idea on her thoughts and emotions. Additionally, the story was extremely slow and only the final few chapters were enjoyable for me. I also found the level of detail around the poaching and animal cruelty to be a bit much and very difficult to stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, and Death

sadiaa's review

dark emotional mysterious

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

4.75

The ending is realistic and heartbreaking,

Spoiler

it doesn't sugarcoat that the world is a cruel place. I liked the way the mystery of Nisha's disappearance was misdirected, we initially are led to believe it was one of the men in her life and we find out that it was actually a soldier. We are reminded of the atrocities that soldiers commit when overseas, a fact that is often skipped over in historical fiction.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Child death, Classism, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: War

isobel_laura's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual harassment, War, Animal death, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Murder, Death, Miscarriage, Child death, and Sexism

staceyinthesticks's review

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Animal death

Subject of slavery is modern slavery

shay_starlessxsea's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Miscarriage, Racism, and Death

meganemily93's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Deportation

sarah_eggleton's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Beautifully and vividly written, very strong symbolism to paint an important picture 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and War

coltons1996's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, and Miscarriage

holly86's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Cancer