Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

L'Examen by Sylvain Neuvel

16 reviews

dalmavatai's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This book was definitely memorable and incredibly unique. 

As social commentary, I believe this book is extremely successful. The way that it explores the dangers of the intersection between scientific technology and xenophobia in Britain, all while the country purports to be against prejudice and discrimination, was radical in the best way possible. The dystopian future Neuvel imagines in this short story is a radical critique of our own time and the ways in which 'Western' countries in particular think that they are liberal and accepting, all while perpetuating a status quo that's still very xenophobic, racist, and Islamophobic. 

However, this book wasn't for me in other ways. The explanations of science definitely went way over my head, especially because I listened to the audiobook and couldn't go back if I didn't grasp something fully. I also thought that the plot point towards the end, while I understand its function as commentary, was a bit random and I could not fully appreciate its inclusion in the story, especially as so much was going on already that I found it a bit hard to follow. 

Short stories are not terribly likely to get a very high rating from me because I can't connect to the characters in such a short period of time, but this is a short story that I believe is definitely worth the read even for those not into science fiction. Maybe read the physical book (perhaps along with the audio because Neal Shah's performance is superb) if you want to stay on top of everything that's going on, though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia

spacebot3000's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Islamophobia

poojakunaparaju's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.25

i think it was super enjoyable like REALLY INTERESTING up until the end like legit till the last 2 pages after which, a shift in the main character's well, character, made me recoil sharply from the entire story even tho u can't blame him for switching up after the shit he was put through AND I MEAN SHIT. i remember being like 3/4th of the way through and thinking this would def be a 4.25ish read but when i was done it dropped down an entire star to 3.25 and i wish i could explain why but i can't, just something in my gut and also NO ONE CARES LMAO but i was really fascinated by a couple of paragraphs that went into human psychological theories which was informative while still being comprehensive to an average reader i'd say, so i was happy it taught me some pretty cool stuff without making me feel too dumb in the process LOL

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Cursing and Xenophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

horizonous's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia

◦ Death = Death of a loved one

juliezantopoulos's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

I am not sure I have words for this one. I love Sylvain's writing, but this was...dark. And I'm not entirely sure that it had to be in order to get the point across. I understand dystopian worlds and alternate futures, but this felt a little like torture porn, a book written purely to shock. It's not the first time a book on the morality of choosing who lives and who dies has been written...but this was a little much. 

It does a good job of packing a punch in a short novella. There's a deeper meaning and diversity of character, but I didn't love this one the way I hoped I would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Medical content

readandfindout's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

3.75

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fatphobia and Rape