Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

4 reviews

frankchester's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, and War

Moderate: Death, Gore, Death of parent, and Abandonment

carlaabra's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is a romance second, maybe even third; more like a drama. First, it is a touching and heartbreaking story of an island wracked by war, and one family’s experiences in particular. 

The writing is amazing, cynical yet eloquent, with lots of moments of levity interspersed.  I was reminded pleasantly of Vonnegut’s biting irreverence and outlandish plots.

It’s mostly third person but changes as needed. The story unfolds in short chapters that occur chronologically. These chapters mostly narrate our main family, but occasionally deviate  to side characters or pivotal events. This seems frivolous at the time of reading, but every chapter intersects with our main story by the end. These seemingly dropped but later interwoven threads give the story a wholeness and sense of context in history. 

I had no idea how close to true events this novel stuck - it only makes it more poignant. The plot slows briefly around page 200 and then again around page 370, however for such a long and deeply historical book it was remarkably readable. The characters are larger than life and so lovable. I hesitate to call them realistic, since they can verge on caricatures at times, but they work with the story. Again, very Vonnegut. 

For a book that starts out so mundane, and whose writing is intentionally ironic, I admit- I almost cried multiple times. This is war, after all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

This is a WWII book. There is no HEA. People are killed for no reason at all, tortured by the enemy and by the conditions they were forced to fight in. It’s brutal and describes real events.

56bumblebees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Excrement

Minor: Death of parent

bethvance's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Police brutality, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, and Outing