Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

16 reviews

deyanira's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

The progress can feel slow at times, but the story kept me intrigued enough to want to keep going and going. The warnings I added are purely in a historical context. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chandlery's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Animal death and Suicide

philosopher_kj's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Rape, and Alcohol

pocketbook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I read this in middle or high school the first time around, and I didn’t remember the parts that took place in the “present time.” I remember being so gutted by

Father Roche’s death

and that I enjoyed this book, but not too many specifics beyond that. I’m so happy I revisited this one. Rerated because this will be staying with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Suicide

dananana's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

There is something incredibly breathtaking about reading a long, slow-build, incredibly detailed book such as this one. You spend so much time in the world that you begin to feel like you were there too. And in a way I WAS in the 1300s with Kivrin, with Mr Dunworthy as he tried to reach her from 2054. These characters are going to stay in my mind and heart forever and I feel so lucky to have read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Blood

iris_garden's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

fahyhallowell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Fascinating to read this tale of two epidemics in the midst of our current pandemic. Many elements ring true such as conspiracy theorists popping up. Aside from time travel, the technology is comiclly antique - phones had video screens but that's about it. I appreciated the classic British humor in the present as a break from the grimness of the past. 100% recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Classism

autisticmisabel's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, and Alcohol

silentquercus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Suicide, and Alcohol

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.0

 Doomsday Book opens in 2054, with Kivrin, a history student at Oxford, preparing to travel back in time to the 1320. However, the drop goes wrong. She doesn’t end up where or when planned. Her mentor Professor Dunmore soon realises this but efforts to rescue her are thwarted by an influenza pandemic.

Although long the story never dragged for me. I was soon very invested in the fate of the people Kivrin meets, especially once the Black Death strikes, exacting a toll far greater and more horrific than her studies had led her to believe. The depictions of the physical suffering the plague caused, people’s helplessness in the face of its inexorable spread, the desperate isolation of being the only person still alive in a village were all conveyed in a vivid, yet not overly dramatic way. Meanwhile the epidemic in 2054 felt all too recognisable - quarantines, insufficient protective wear for medical staff and a shortage of toilet paper!

This is a very quiet book, but one full of heart and humanity. So many of the character will stay with me. Not just Kivrin and Dunsmore but also precocious Colin and Father Roche for his genuine belief, his kindness and his determined dignity. There are no battles and no major bad guys, just people trying to survive and do their best in difficult circumstances. I’m not a huge fan of science fiction/speculative fiction, yet I enjoyed this book. The futuristic timeline is light on world building and the technological details that make time travel possible. Far more attention was given to the details of life in 1348, meaning it felt more like an historical fiction novel than anything else. For me this was a plus; for another type of reader it could be the exact opposite. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship