Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Jedyni dobrzy Indianie by Stephen Graham Jones

347 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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2.25

Finished reading: December 27th 2023


“When the whole world hurts, you bite it. Don't you?”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I should have known this would happen. I've come to the conclusion that literary fiction just isn't for me, although there have been exceptions in the past... I guess this story ended up being another nail in the coffin of this subgenre though. Don't get me wrong: I was SO intrigued by the premise of The Only Good Indians, and I loved the social commentary and own voices Native American aspect. This is probably the only reason I kept reading, because I had a very BIG issue with this book. There was just something about the writing style I clashed horribly with, and I was only feeling more annoyed and frustrated with each page... Add the often slow pace and confusing POV and timeline switches, and let's just say that I wasn't really motivated to continue reading The Only Good Indians. I even put it on hold twice to see if that would help... But in the end I simply don't think I'm a good match for his author's writing style. That said, I also struggled with the characters themselves, which felt rather flat and were both unlikeable and easy to mix up. Things also get pretty graphic with lots of focus on violence, hunting and animal cruelty... I usually don't mind a more twisted plot, but there was a bit too much focus on the animal cruelty to my taste. Anyhow, I guess that The Only Good Indians is just one of those books that you either absolutely love or struggle to finish... Sadly, I ended up belonging to the second group, and I confess that I caught myself skimreading more than once. It's such shame, because I really wanted to love this one! 

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gayenglishteacher's review against another edition

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

4.0


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cryptid_kt's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

4.0


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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense

4.75


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grace_b_3's review against another edition

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

4.0


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thekeyescollection's review against another edition

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

3.5


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meliemelo's review against another edition

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

4.75

Definitely one of the creepiest and most fascinating novels I have read in a while. I loved so many things about it: how it progressed, the (debatable)"antagonist", the finale, even the ending itself. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes the genre.

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attackrat's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

4.25

The writing in this book is beautiful, SGJ is very talented with words and setting an atmospheric scene. There’s a lot that I liked about this book, and some that I didn’t. The pacing was kind of odd, there was a surprising dominance of basketball in the story, and I don’t love how the author treated the female characters. But it was also a very rich and disturbing cautionary tale supported by Indian mythos. Mixed thoughts, honestly. But the stars say all they need to.

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merbearmer's review against another edition

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

4.5


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mdwsn27's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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