Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Miss Islanda by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

5 reviews

eisenbuns's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

samarakroeger's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

really enjoyed reading this (in Iceland!), especially with the short chapters.  it did feel pretty obvious what Olafsdottir was trying to convey about the difficulties of being a woman or gay in 1960s Iceland (or anywhere, tbh).  the main characters were pretty cookie cutter and did not surprise me.

on a sentence-to-sentence level, this book was beautifully written (and translated), but I think it could have had a much bigger impact had it taken some more risks with plot and character development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death of parent

12dejamoo's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

I love the way this book is written, in that slightly disconnected, abstract way. Maybe that's an effect of translation but it's so nice to read. There's a lot here I think I missed/would take deeper thought. But I really had a good time reading this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death and Sexual content

rieviolet's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I quite liked the general setting, I've never read about Icelandic society, let alone in the 1960s, and I appreciated the focus on the conditions of women and gay men. 
Still, I'm not so sure about the actual characters and their portrayals, I struggled a bit to connect with them, especially with the main character Helka. Among everyone, my favourite character might actually be her best friend Ísey. 

I appreciated the writing style, especially the descriptions of the landscape, they were very atmospheric. I also didn't mind the division in short sections, it made for a pacier reading, but I can see that it might also give a bit of a disjointed feeling to the narration. 

Sometimes I struggled a bit with the tone, like I read a passage and I really could not understand if it was supposed to be funny?! I don't know if it is just me, it just felt strange, I couldn't get my head around it.
Also, I have to say I was disappointed by the end, it actually did not feel like much of an ending, more like an abrupt stop in the narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Police brutality, and War

fionac326's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexism

Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Blood, and Pregnancy