Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Cent'anni di solitudine by Gabriel García Márquez

31 reviews

tommy_g's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

michaelion's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.5

The most confusing part of this book is the names. But! It's clear that was intentional. Everything else? Pretty lovely. (I don't mean that literally for every aspect. Don't cancel me.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Homophobia, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment

heddasch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Grief

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

3.5

Overall opinion: I liked it. I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I honestly think the way I read it also had quite a big impact on my experience and final opinion.

I took two weeks and a half to read this book, which is quite a lot for me, and I think that stopped me from feeling fully immersed in the story.

On the other end, the misogyny (and incest) didn't sit well with me. I recognise that it might make sense given the context but nonetheless, I can't help but feel that there were unnecessary parts that could have been handled better. And even with the context, it made me feel uncomfortable and that's something that always stains my reading experience. 

I feel like I need to justify myself because I know this is the favourite of so many (and because it was a direct rec from someone that means so much to me). I especially feel like I need to talk about what I didn't like because what I liked it's quite obvious.

Gabriel Gracía Márquez writes in a wonderful and quirky way. He's an excellent storyteller that knows how to make a message come to life in the form of a narrative. His mastery of magical realism is indisputable.

I guess this was more of a me problem. I feel like I failed to see the big picture and the whole thing fell short to me. The good news is: I can't stop thinking about how a reread in a couple of years will likely become a much more enjoyable experience. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

dolly_rocker's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

You have to be up for a challenge to read this book, but wow, is it worth it. I think listening to the audiobook helps a lot, as the narrator is fantastic.

While I have some quibbles with the content, the overall themes that this book explores, about the circular nature of time and the impact of solitude, are masterfully explored through beautiful writing. It’s hard to keep up with so many characters who have the same name, and their stories are told in ways that are often not linear, and yet this approach helps you to realize that the way one character perceives an event is quite different from how others perceive it. And so the events or actions thought by some to be magical could really be magic, or they could just be folklore, passed down through generations or perceived through secondhand knowledge.

I couldn’t stop reading this book and wanting to know what happened to these characters, even though none of them were particularly likable. They were all interesting, and gosh, Fernanda and her ranting will linger in my mind for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and War

eliss02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

I've read this for an university exam, I despised it so much it made me sick a few times but I constantly think about it. Despite me disliking this book it was one of those I've printed on my mind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Infidelity

elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Wow. Folks, I have got THOUGHTS on this book. Up to the last two chapters, I would not have said I was enjoying this book, in spite of being amazed by the undeniable brilliance of the writing. The plot seems to ramble all over the place, with events that I expected to be ultimately climactic in nature being nearly thrown away in the narrative. On top of that there were lots of scenes and events that made me feel deeply "squicky" (check the trigger warnings on this book before you read it, because there are some doozies). However, just when I would nearly make up my mind to stop reading, I would encounter a phrase or a piece of imagery that was so breathtaking that it would keep me reading. And then, as the book ended in a whirlwind of revelation and fulfilled prophesy, I was so glad that I finished the story. 

Even so, I don't think I can honestly give the book more than three stars, even for the brilliance of the final chapters. I don't think it makes up for the unnecessarily graphic descriptions of the Buendia family's hereditary vices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

_cecilie_'s review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kia_y_k's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dastardly_red_witch's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, War, and Classism