Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

46 reviews

nutfreenerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Child death, Grief, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Murder, and Racial slurs

arf26's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book!  So well written - taking a heavy and charged set of topics and adding humor.  The insight into the South Boston neighborhood, code, and mindset was riveting.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexism

hillybean82's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense fast-paced

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

4.5

It’s like John Wick but it takes place in Boston in the 70’s. It’s great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Gun violence

windrunner_nyy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Gun violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug abuse

isabelboswinkel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Racism, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Drug use, Hate crime, Violence, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy and Adult/minor relationship

pcarey1356's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

the book covers a emotional and turbulent time in history. It's hard to read about those times but I think it was handled well and I gained insight. I'm a big fan of Dennis Lehane and this book didn't let me down. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Violence, and Racial slurs

leonorekoki's review against another edition

3.75

As a historical portrait of Southie in the 70s, I think it’s brilliant—evocative, nuanced, immersive. The mystery/suspense of Mary Pat’s quest is well done, the character comes to life on the page, and the storytelling is masterful. 

As a commentary on racism, however, I wasn’t sold. As others have pointed out, Mary Pat’s arc ultimately isn’t about race.  The barrage of racial slurs  also made for a difficult read, possibly worse in audio where it feels even more visceral and you can’t really skip over words. Historically accurate, sure, but it didn’t feel great about a White author. I don’t doubt his intentions were to show the ugly side of racism, but the absence of developed Black characters left me feeling uneasy and unsatisfied. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

emory's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Child death, Gun violence, and Drug use

Minor: Gore

kmad's review

4.0

This is an ugly book (both with the language and the violence), but also very well written historical fiction. Conflicted about how to rate it and could change this later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Murder, Violence, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug abuse and Addiction

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship

janisrogers's review

dark emotional tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence