Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

20 reviews

snowwpuppet's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

,Let's face it, the world war II genre is overplayed. The writing here wasn't bad, it was good even, but the plot mostly lost me. It mainly follows two people, a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy as they grow up in Europe. The plot just doesn't feel very grabbing or original to me, it's your standard world war II book, with a bit of romance and, for some reason fantasy, thrown in unnecessarily. The short-lived romance between the two main characters seems odd and forced and the up in the air magical artifact McGuffin that then has no actual plot value is downright strange. Honestly, the best parts of this book are the ones that focus on the German boy's sister, and fellow soldier, but even those aren't very original. There's simply so much of the same world war II book a person can read without getting tired of the same old schtick, and this hit the limit for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

"We rise again in the grass. In the flowers. In songs." 

I don't know what to tell you about this book. I am glad, that I finished it, even though it was difficult to read about all the suffering. I am so sorry for all the people that have been hurt by hate, greed and nationalism and I wish, history would have been different, but now we can only learn from it and be better. 
This book is so amazingly detailed in it's places, characters, storylines etc. It's a marvel! 
At first it was a little confusing because the chapters weren't really in a chronological order, but it honestly makes sense now. I can recommend this book, though I would tell you, that you need the energy for it. It's not an easy read. 

"When my father left, people said I was brave. But it's not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don't you do the same?" 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

sauvageloup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

a good read with a lot to recommend it

pros:
- the characters were probably the best part, particularly Marie-Laure and Werner, and all the side characters of Jotta, Frau Elena, Etienne, etc. Even ones like Volkheimer were compelling. There was a lot of feeling behind each of them, their struggles of fear and whether to rebel or comply felt very human, and i never felt frustrated with them despite some of their mistakes or foibles. 
- the plot was good too, it stayed tight and interesting throughout and I always wanted to know what would happen next. the idea for the diamond and the model city was clever and fresh, against some of the more familiar tropes of a war novel
- i liked the characters talking about their interests - Werner and Etienne's fascination with radios, Marie-Laure with her books and her snails, Jotta with her art, Volkheimer's music, even. 
- the writing was excellent too, very poetic at times, especially on discussing nature. the loss of Frederick's mind felt the most poignant, because of the pointlessness of it, how he was such a sweet boy and a dreamer, and Werner's guilt of it
- the epilogues were good, satisfying because they weren't too sad or too unrealistic. the sense of the randomness of who survives and who doesn't was palpable
- I also liked that the idea of their being a curse on the Sea of Flames was never really confirmed or not, just left as a question of belief. it was more representative whether or not the characters kept the stone than what the stone actually was. 
- also, the placing of a blind character centre stage and presenting her as brave, capable and important, was good to read. while it wasn't easy for her, there wasn't a huge amount of bullying or abelism she went through, which I think makes for a change. sometimes authors seem to include disabled characters only to make them suffer, to make everyone else feel better about not being disabled. 

cons:
- somehow it just didn't touch me as much as some others, particularly Life after Life which I read recently. That really showed the horror of the war somehow, whereas this felt surface level? too much like tropes? I'm not sure. 
- as lovely as it was when Marie-Laure and Werner finally met, I wish they'd had more time together
- perhaps Marie-Laure was a little too perfect, though that is the point of her I suppose. Werner sees her as the pure thing the men at his school talked of. saving her was him saving the last bit of innocent goodness 
- the scene were Jotta, Fray Elena and the others were abruptly raped by the Russians felt.. gratuitous. the horror of it wasn't conveyed in the short segment and it felt like an add on, like the author thought - oh and rape must happen at some time in war, and stuck it in without any emotional lead up or conclusion. 
- the shortness of each chapter or segment did frustrate me a bit, always chopping and changing. I also got confused between the times, not sure how Von Rubel had in one chapter crushed the model house and in the next, couldn't find it (one was in the Paris, the other in Saint-Malo) 
- whilst I (as a non-disabled person) thought Marie-Lauren's disability was written well, I did think that for Etienne's 20years of claustrophobia to disappear just like that, because he loves Marie-Laure so much he just overcomes it, wasnt a great depiction. 

all in all, a very good read, but not as emotionally poignant as it might have been (or else I'm just a bit numb rn) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Torture, Excrement, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

crisi_books's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

5/5 stars just for my tears and how attached I was to these characters and their stories.

I would not have read this book if not for my English Literature class, and honestly...I don't regret a thing. This is a book I will be thinking about for months and maybe even years to come.

All the Light We Cannot See is such a lovely, devastating book about humanity and care. Doerr's (sometimes overbearing) attention to detail is enrapturing and kept me hooked for hundreds of pages, and the way he has crafted all these characters is so masterful, as well as the more philosophical questions and concepts he discusses. Marie-Laure and Werner don't share many moments in the book, but their connection is immediate, and their stories intertwine so wonderfully. Each character matters, and each has their own flaws and characteristics that make the story just that more enriching and human. However, I can see how people might find this book boring or too slow, and I agree! I just think that everything else in this book overshadows that and it leaves only a significantly good impression in my brain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction and Rape

rebekahvldz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I came to this book with the expectations of a crushing, thrilling tale- a romance between two lovers or friends not fated to end up together amidst a turbulent World War 2 backdrop. I expected heartbreak, insights and a lot of sobbing a la Book Thief. This absolutely was a romance book but not between people- rather it was two characters who fell in love with everything and everyone around them, who would do anything to preserve the life they lived so dearly in the countries they were loyal to. It was interesting to see the contrast between what that meant for both characters and both of them did end up breaking my heart in small ways. But there was no fanfare finale, no resolution to the two particular storylines that suggested the story was moving forward. It was kind of worse in a way, because it lacked those. I still loved the book- , the writing was poetic and enthralling, the characters were passionate, curious and dedicated and made me love the things they did but I will say there was no major plot here. It was more a study of two characters, an exploitation of their passions and how that interacted with the impending war but again no grand sweeping story. It was still beautiful, of course and I did enjoy it but I was still waiting for the story to start at page 450. Other than me turning the pages, I would’ve had no indication that the story was moving forward. And each chapter spends only a couple pages with either character so you don’t really get to sink your teeth in, despite the 527 pages. I thought it was worth the read but I deeply wish I had come with no preconceived notions- I might have enjoyed it more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Excrement, and Death of parent

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape and Vomit

Minor: Drug use

janan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Bullying, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

aeriecircus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, and Abandonment

Minor: Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Daniel LeBlanc is a locksmith at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, and builds scale models of his neighborhood so that his blind daughter, Marie-Laure LeBlanc, can learn to navigate her way around. Marie-Laure is fascinated by biology, especially snails, having spent her youth surrounded by the scientists of the museum. When the Germans move to occupy France in 1940, he is sent away with a stone--either an impressive forgery or the real "Sea of Flames," a giant diamond that is said to be cursed. Daniel and Marie-Laure flee to the small coastal village of Saint-Malo, where they live with Daniel's uncle, Etienne.
Meanwhile in Germany, Werner and Jutta Pfennig grow up in a children's home in a mining town. Werner has an aptitude for radios, and learns to repair them from practice on a cheap one he found broken in someone's trash. His skill leads him to be recruited to an elite political school, and eventually to a position in the German army.
We follow Marie-Laure and Werner though the war, as food becomes increasingly scarce and decisions increasingly difficult. 

For me, the most interesting (and most difficult) part of this book was seeing how quickly Werner became a Nazi, and how difficult it would have been for him to question what he was forced into.

Similarly, I enjoyed seeing Jutta's point of view  at the end of the book, when she feels nervous and guilty and expects the French people to hate her or blame her for the horrors of the war.

These perspectives help to humanize the German citizens form this time in a way that I think is important for understanding this period of history--and hopefully to learn from the mistakes of the past.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Rape, and Excrement

This book is about World War II, so most of these tags are given. Most of the major atrocities of the war are only alluded to; we don't see much of that directly in the book. The violence that is described are not overly detailed or long. Almost all of these tags apply to Werner's passages.