Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Cem Anos de Solidão by Gabriel García Márquez

8 reviews

bebodotcom's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

*****.*

CW: for dated terms for Romani people, sex workers, etc.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

1orne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Slavery and Abortion

smolena's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I didn't really like this as much as I thought I was, it being a must-read masterpiece and all. 
Structurally it's great, language is plain and matter-of-fact, characters are entirely reprehensible. 
I don't like the narration style, I would prefer something with a bit more depth. 
Also, the second to last chapter is shit and should have been left out entirely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicide, and Terminal illness

mariavdl's review against another edition

dark

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, and Rape

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Torture, Excrement, Dementia, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

cleansky7's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Excrement, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

shreyasingh's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and War

sofipitch's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

This is a beautifully written book. It's also very political. It has the same themes of colonialism, political wars, traditional/catholic views vs modern lifestyles, and family that surround a lot of Latin american works. I read "The House of the Spirits" and I can see how Garcia Marquez influenced Allende. The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is for the depictions of sex, in a lot of scenes the women don't want to and are more or less raped only to "fall in love/have sex all the time" with the man, it happens multiple times and isn't clearly condemned by the text which is, big yikes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness and Excrement

Minor: Antisemitism and Abortion