Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexiévich

14 reviews

mondovertigo's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, Violence, Death, Racism, War, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Rape, Animal death, and Child death

wifeslife's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and War

chelsl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Suicide, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Murder, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, and Death

isaarusilor's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Torture, Genocide, War, and Death

beholderess's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Suicide

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism

dantheman83's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, War, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

_shonahenderson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Violence, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, Torture, and Grief

jacobinreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.75

It is often said that to better understand a people, to read their fiction and their poetry, to read their history and culture through their own eyes and words. Frankly, there could be no better time to read this book than now, to understand the character of the tragedy which has been unfolding for the last three decades in the world's largest country.

This is a multifaceted and deeply empathetic look at the ravages of the brutal transitions and rapacious systems of the 'new' Russia, the nostalgia of generations of people, and the penury the everyday Russian is forced into by a new era of police brutality, robber-baron oligarchs, criminality, and the greedy ambitions of the "democratic" Russian state. However, this book also chronicles amazing and beautiful strength and character in the face of these tragedies, and adds a vivid dimension to the average citizen's thoughts, feelings, and way of life.

Reading this book, I really felt a strange parallel to the great Russian literature of the past, it reflected deeply on the soul, in a sort of ethnographic way. I highly recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence

emilyplun's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, War, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

maneatingbadger's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs