Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Children of Paradise

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova

11 reviews

danibeetle's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Children of Paradise is brimming with film references, and while I have far from seen all the ones mentioned, they really added to the tone of this book. By far my most loved character was The Paradise Cinema itself, and it’s whale mouth that swallows our protagonist -and us- whole. As the already fragile seams of the cinema come apart during the second half of the book, we see this destruction replicated in its cast of strange workers. This really drove home that there was a clostrophobic and even biological link between the space and its residents. There were moments this novella fell short for me, mostly in its most intense moments, which felt like they ended too quickly. I could see this being purposeful on Grudova’s part though, as each time a horrific incident occurs, it’s always seemingly too fast for the characters to act in time. Overall this was a certified weird, gross, fun little read. The setting brought me a lot of joy, and has me itching to sit in a (hopefully less filthy) cinema chair asap.

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mayg's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

4.0

I don't know why I like this book. I'm 100% sure that at another point in my life, in different circumstances I would have hated it but I surprisingly loved it. I loved the horror, I loved the disgusting descriptions, I loved how grotesque and weird it felt and I loved the commentary it made.

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readwithchar's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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your_true_shelf's review against another edition

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dark fast-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? Yes

4.0

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noahee's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

the narrator is written with a detached feeling, it seems like she is nonchalant about the things that happen.

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blymanor's review

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dark fast-paced

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

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katewhite77's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I Think This Book Is Designed For Cinophiles

Set in cinema this is also a satire on capitalism, corporatism of cinema and the day to day reality of the 9 to 5 grind.

This book is very grotesque throughout and is full of bodily fluid but I think that's in part due to the film references that were completely lost on me.

I don't think think this book would be to everyone taste.

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