Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Matrix by Lauren Groff

3 reviews

rednikki's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

One recommendation in fiction – both books and film – is that "and then" storytelling is kind of boring, while "but – therefore" story is very interesting. This story starts with a but-therefore...and then most of the rest of it is "and then."

I generally bounce off books where all dialogue is paraphrased, but I was very interested in the period and the setting so I gave it a go. And man, I wish I had not. Most of the characters have very little personality, and they can be identified either by a skill or a deformity. (A couple of characters have Exactly One Quirk. Someone is very rude! Or someone is insane! Or someone is always very sweet! But only a few characters have a personality trait.) As a result, I mixed up the characters a lot.

The author lingered on gruesome death a lot. I get it, "it's 1183 and we're all barbarians!" (to quote The Lion in Winter), but it kind of felt like torture porn.

There were still interesting aspects to the book, and it would probably have been a 3.5 from me if it weren't for the last five pages.

The new abbess throws the old abbess's book of visions into the fire, and then (to paraphrase, just like the author does) a little cloud of smoke goes up and it adds to climate change, which in just over a thousand years turns the land to cinders and kills everyone. This is the second litfic book I've read this year that ends with "climate change, everyone dies." And BOY did it feel tacked on when it's a book set in the 12th century.

Are publishers now mandating that sort of ending or what?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Islamophobia and Dementia