Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

46 reviews

viscog30's review against another edition

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

2.0

Decent storyline, but includes heaps of misogyny and violence against women. Perpetrators of violence against women are portrayed in a sympathetic light, and their behavior is largely ignored or excused. Women are also objectified and sexualized constantly. 2 stars.

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booknerdwithlipstick's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5


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meguniqueuser's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Very melodramatic. The main character Daniel is overly emotional and falls in love with almost every woman he meets and they in turn are charmed by him. 
Every woman falls madly in love with Julian and is obsessed with him.
The criticisms that are thrown at romantic novels by female authors all apply here. 

While the writing is poetic and evocative, the story lacks much meaning. Yet the author upholds the plot like it is the most sacred of texts. Maybe it was the audio I listened to with piano interludes that made it even more overdramatic. 

Perhaps if you enjoy gloomy mellow drama you might enjoy this, but I don’t. I especially didn't like that the author describes women as sexual objects, plot devices, or the butt of jokes. 

There are so many endings and epilogues, it was worst than the last Lord of the Rings. 

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 3 stars
Characters: 2 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars

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seforana's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

2.75


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bookish_bry's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.25

This book was very good when it was good, but honestly dragged a bit in some places. The story and mystery is great, but there felt like there was a lot of filler. Also, I was often ripped out of the narrative when we were listening to a part of the story from a particular character's perspective and suddenly zoomed out to third person omniscient giving us information that the character we were following could not know. Sometimes that sort of thing works, but it didn't really feel like it worked here. I also wish we'd spent a little more time getting to know Bea. There were also a few annoying loose ends.
Wasn't... Fermín wanted for murder? Clara just disappeared into nothing. even though I expected her to at least have some baring on the plot at some point.

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kiana_hi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75


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amhud1030's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

3.5


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bookwormcat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a great book. Beautiful prose, compelling characters and a fascinating mystery. Dark and sad but with moments of real humour. I loved it

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kell_xavi's review against another edition

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medium-paced

2.0


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