Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Severance by Ling Ma

107 reviews

caprivoyant's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

I'll be feeling the ripples of this book in my heart for a long time, I think. It feels almost inseparable now from the real world's dystopian-like policies around a pandemic/epidemic. Candace felt real. What she was navigating felt real. And her story, although arguably a very lonely one, made me feel more connected to myself and helped me process a sadness about the world in a way that only a work of fiction can facilitate. 

Was it perfect? Probably not. But it was everything I needed it to be and more. ❤️‍🩹

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Pregnancy

+ a scene with bugs (maggots) + a cult/high-demand-group dynamic

sproutedpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death, Confinement, Racism, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Drug use

aklovekorn's review against another edition

reflective tense 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

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Death, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Terminal illness

darthbiblia's review

dark funny tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Whoa. This book came out years before COVID, but the descriptions of the early stages were so uncanny. The dry humor and office politics, concerns about foreign labor and gender issues. I loved the story of her immigrant parents assimilating in the United States, then bringing her as a small child. This was a beautiful story, and I was sad that it ended. I look forward to more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Death, Sexism, Vomit, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, Grief, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness

astridrv's review against another edition

A fast, rather smart read that offers a bleak, at times funny, contemplation of capitalism and alienation, whether through work, sickness, or immigration. I found it a compelling take on pandemic & post-apocalyptic themes, succeeding as Station Eleven did in examining that type of setting from a different lense. Some paragraphs about memory and childhood hit me right in the feels, and the general comment about the deeply alienating nature of late stage capitalism is well done.

I found the description of the fevered extremely jarring, since everyone's reaction to them is seeped in ableism, and I'm still thinking about this book as I progress through the podcast series from Nevada Humanities about its contents: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/severance-radio 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Child death, Death of parent, and Ableism

Moderate: Pregnancy

haleybre's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia

kirchnerkd's review

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

tenderbench's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, and Pregnancy

querciola's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Drug use

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Dementia, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Suicide