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jordan_m_hansen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: War
blreads15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
susan2424's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
brookdorff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Abortion, and War
mts's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
thatsssorachael's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t dislike it, but I was ready for it to end.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Abortion
amkleintje's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
gracescanlon's review against another edition
That's the trouble, actually. It's fine. I could only read this before bed, because it kept putting me to sleep. That is, in a small way, also a compliment - Allende's prose, its rhythm, is soothing. But the book is also boring boring boring.
I've been trying to read more diverse books. Even so, Allende in general has been on my TBR, as a renowned female South American author. However, leaving the country where the book is set unnamed was frustrating to me. I've learned since abandoning this book that it's set in Chile, but as I read it, the vagueness of the location irked me. I want to know more about other places. Leaving Violeta's setting unspecified was counterproductive to that - it just wasn't a choice I liked or appreciated. I'm quite aware that that's a personal problem, and that Allende's choice was purposeful and valid, but I don't have to like it.
The amount of people in the reviews who were at all surprised as to Camilo's identity is baffling to me. It's so blatantly obvious to me that he's her grandson, or at the very least a grandson-like person in her life. Y'all need to work on reading comprehension.
Violeta seems, to me, aimless - an odd sensation, given it's the story of a woman's life that spanned throughout tumultuous times. But even 35% through the book, Violeta has only been "involved" with contemporary world events tangentially, if at all.
Also, the older Violeta telling the story has a little personality, but her younger self has very little. Honestly, the side characters were all more interesting than she was, from Torito and the Rivases to her aunts and Miss Taylor.
So, ultimately, I didn't care, don't care, can't care. I'll be donating or selling this book.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
teainthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Police brutality
bcvogel90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Sexual assault