Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

16 reviews

rachelblair's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

faitheve's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

The best book I’ve read this year, amazingly well written and such a good thought piece which can link easily to todays communities and their divides

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

mahtzahgay's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? No

3.0

The prose was alright – the subject matter absolutely miserable. While I appreciate the care and love given to Apple Island's inhabitants, there's something so deeply depressing about reading a story where eugenics-loving colonisers do what eugenics-loving colonisers do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

deanrossss's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

maceydowns's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Slavery, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

emjbarnes's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Deportation

Moderate: Death, Incest, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Rape

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Deportation

loiscarlisle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

lottie1803's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Deportation

deedireads's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.0

As of this writing, This Other Eden is shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. Still, given that it got some lukewarm reviews in my personal circle, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it. It’s not perfect, but it is gorgeously written and undeniably moving.

The book is a fully fictional story featuring fictional characters from a real place with a real history: Malaga Island off the coast of Maine, home of a mixed-race community that was evicted and partially institutionalized by the government. There are a lot of characters for a book, but not very many to serve as the sum total of all the island’s inhabitants; still, it’s easy to keep track of them (a testament to Harding’s skill) and even easier to love them.

My main complaint about this book was that it isn’t very researched at all; in an interview, Harding said that he heard about Malaga Island, got inspired, and then essentially stopped researching it (not even visiting), because he didn’t feel like those real people’s story was his to tell. That feels like a cop out to me.

Still, Harding succeeds in much of what he set out to do, at least: paint a devastating picture of eugenics, raise questions about the concept of paradise, and make his readers feel something deeply.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Incest, and Racism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, and Forced institutionalization