Reviews tagging 'War'

L'Ombre du vent by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

65 reviews

voraciousreader10's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

theglossreview's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

Atrocious. “The Shadow of the Wind“ is nothing but a series of horrible events. The plot seems like a competition between the characters: “Whose misfortune is the worst?”

There is barely a content warning to be found that does not apply to this book. The story is full of graphic portrayals of all kinds of violence and abuse. None of the characters are likeable. In the case of “The Shadow of the Wind“, this is a blessing, since everything that happens to the characters is bad. 

The sexism and misogyny is blatant throughout the book. It would have been one thing to portray these as part of the era in  which the book is set, but “The Shadow of the Wind” contains multiple characters whose only role is to enact and spew sexist, misogynist poison. This is taken so far that several characters introduce themselves through bigoted statements, as if this philosophy was the most important and first thing you need to know about them. This book does not pass the Bechdel test. The book is barely worthy of the phrase “portrayal of women”, since there are only portrayals of objects of desire, self-sacrificial lovers and devout mothers. 

Before you read this book, please take a look at the content warnings to see how vile it is. I’m shocked and disappointed to see that the average rating is above 4 stars. The content of the book deserves zero stars, however, the well-constructed mystery and beautiful writing elevate it to 2 stars. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alexjamiestaples's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

natalija1210's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rgm093's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

msapocalypse's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. There are some wonderful small observations throughout, but I didn't find most of the characters or the actual plot to pull me in as much as they wanted to. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gillian_aftanas's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jackbifrost's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kcjulia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Although I loved the literary mystery and setting,  the ubiquitous misogyny and violence is hard to handle. Women are not treated well in this book…

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

maryam16080208's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.75


Expand filter menu Content Warnings