Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

14 reviews

julesloyola's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Violence, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery

Minor: Antisemitism, Car accident, and Child abuse

caintooth's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Confinement and Self harm

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Intense and at times deeply emotional,  this is a book that will stay with you for days after you finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Minor: Bullying, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Body horror, Confinement, and Physical abuse

mfrank's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Slavery

brookiebridge's review

dark sad tense

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

One of my favorite books of all time. The pacing is the best I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t put the book down and finished it, sobbing, at 3 in the morning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Rape, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Slavery, Cannibalism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Torture

The book builds up to the reveal of why the main character survived and what happened to him.

Spoiler

He watched as alien children were killed and eaten, and his friends died trying to stand up for them. He was then forced to also eat the alien children to survive, him and his friend underwent medical disfigurement of their hands and his friend died as a result. He was then sold to a brothel where he was raped repeatedly, and accidentally killed a child who had come to try to help him, thinking the child was a rapist at first. He is repeatedly confined to small spaces and isolated. Half of the story is him being investigated by his superiors, who don’t know he was raped but believe he committed murder and had illicit sex, since he is a priest. He has severe ptsd but the investigation forces him to confront his past.

tauboi's review

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual content, and Rape

mandkips's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Slavery, Cannibalism, and Violence

pretty_b1rd's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

will be thinking about this book for a while

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence

wyrmes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Death, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Torture, Terminal illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility and Vomit

blnktdnstrs's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5

This book is full of humanity, compassion, wonder, and tragedy, and it took my breath away. The last third of the book seemed lacking compared to the rest, but it was still stunning and I would gladly read it again. Now I need to find the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Slavery, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror