Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

38 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

natashaball's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Death

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

mutokenji's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Drug use

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

marthadude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Gun violence

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

liloopie's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

Oh my gosh, this book was so well written. I had it both on audible, as well as Kindle, and I had a hard time putting it down. The plot was heartbreaking. The characters were rememberable and realistic for the Audible narration, well enacted. This was a dark story and a part of the American history, that unfortunately, are still being played out in the U.S. today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, and Hate crime