Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

17 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

august_ambrosia's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

good lord. what a book. absolute poetry from start to end it was... musical. absolutely loved the lists of adjectives and focus on art and ambiguity present because it made the moments where you were told things so much more poignant. you loved the islanders and hated the settlers and the vignettes from the future were so touching and heartbreaking and i will definitely be reading again and holding it dear to my heart. every islander had their own humanity and all the antagonistic characters did too - and the background characters too and this world was just absolutely TEEMING with life. loved every moment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child death and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death

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

dogearedandfurry's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Deportation

Moderate: Rape

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

useyourgoodeye's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was better as I kept reading. The writing was great with details but not a lot of character backstory or information below the surface. It almost seems like a list of characters but no real substance. The subject is very interesting and I would have loved more follow up and character plots.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, and Racism

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

squintyfarmer's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Racism, and Forced institutionalization

bodenleben's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Incest

bessadams's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Rape, and Forced institutionalization

soswiin's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

had some incredibly strong moments but failed to really pull me in for any part that wasn't the second section. really didn't learn too much about most of the cast despite most of the book depicting the mundane parts of the islanders' lives. so dull for the majority of the book that i was only truly invested in the painting scene and the occasional tense end of a paragraph. though there were some genuinely striking lines, it felt like harding was trying to hard to be deep in his narrations and descriptions that it just came off as pretentious. the lack of quotation marks and abundance of run-ons just made this a chore to read at times as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Incest and Rape