Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

El dios de los bosques by Liz Moore

56 reviews

sweetsouthwest's review against another edition

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slow-paced

4.25


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maestro_cerrotorcido's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is not the type of thing I would normally read, but I am glad I did. At some point in the book, I was kind of getting tired of all the time changes and it didn't feel like the story was progressing, but once I got to about 70%, I couldn't put the book down.

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esthrrrr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0


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ericaereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 3.5 stars rounded down because, for a book called The God of the Woods, the woods sure weren't a main feature of any real consequence until the literal last page and I am petty about it.

Also because there was next to no diversity, and the diversity that was present was only coded and used as a plot device
and once, a red herring,
which made me feel deeply uncomfy.
There also is, especially with T.J., a bit of conflation of pedophilia and homosexuality and consistent othering by other characters that isn't adequately addressed to the point of making the handling of her entire character feel deeply homophobic from a narration standpoint. Sure we have coded-queer characters, but they sure don't get to be happy and better be dead or single at the end of the book.(There could be an argument that T.J. is ace, but we'll never know because, ALSO, she isn't a POV character).
The characterization also at times felt weirdly misogynistic (especially through the portrayal of one of our MCs). It's wild the lengths WASP-y white female authors will go to make sure everyone knows that all 1950s housewives were deeply oppressed people (like seriously, if I could talk to all of them I would say, "You DO realize that the 1950s housewife was the same generation as Rosie the Riveter?) The lack of nuance is exhausting.

Also also because, sorry not sorry, just throwing a bunch of deeply unhappy characters together and using a non-linear narrative structure to force tension does not equate to literature.

If I'm petty I'd call this Colleen Hoover lit-fic, but that seems a bit mean given that the writing was solid (just not for me) and at least the problematic relationships were actually portrayed as problematic.

And listen, I get it. When I did force myself to pick this book up I couldn't put it down. It was, dare I say, "unputdownable." And as a non-mystery/thriller reader I was completely on the twist-and-turn ride and NEEDED to find out what happened. Which is why the true rating is 3.5 stars because good Lord I could not stop. 

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marilululu's review against another edition

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

3.75


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xandiecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Decent book, but it does get unnecessarily overwhelming with the amount of characters, perspective shifts, and time shifts, which muddles the story. Otherwise, a good read.

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ladybug12793's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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


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fanchera's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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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drpthy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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ottercorg's review against another edition

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

4.5

Hearing the hype for this, I approached with caution and ended up devouring it. What a spectacular novel from start to finish.

Crime procedurals are not always my thing, especially in book form, but class commentaries are and more than anything that is what this is. A tale of wealth and power, the forms it can take, the effect it has on its surroundings, and perhaps most importantly on its children.

Moore beautifully intertwines multiple timelines and characters and kept me guessing all the way to the very end. I hurt for Barbara and Tracy and Louise and wanted to strangle every single Peter. I attached to these characters quickly and fiercely. The story was a bit long, which is my only valid reason for docking half a star. I feel it wasn't wholly necessary but it also didn't feel like Moore was dragging it along so, who knows. Maybe it actually is a 5 star read for me.

I am glad that, to me, the hype for this one feels well deserved.

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