Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

7 reviews

bella_cavicchi's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

To be alive! A burden and a pleasure, and I admire MARTYR! for attending to both. In fact, I adore its absurdity, a treat of form aligning perfectly with content. Akbar can clearly write, but what had the novel stand out, for me, is the steadfast commitment to the existential question of what marks a (meaningful) life.

The hype is well-earned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Abandonment, Terminal illness, War, Cancer, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Grief, Alcohol, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Islamophobia

Minor: Deportation and Homophobia

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

kenrya's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Vomit, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Grief, Suicide, War, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Outing, and Pregnancy

hannahlee's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

A gripping, powerful novel from an author whose poetry I've really enjoyed. It was inspiring to see Akbar branch out into prose, which he clearly has a talent for. I was immediately gripped by the characters, and loved the perspectival shifts and the dream sequences. It feels like a young book - an author preoccupied with the difficulties of making art when one is self-conscious about that process, very meta at times - but satisfying, mostly sticking the landing. Still ruminating on how I feel about the ending, but ultimately a really enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Terminal illness, War, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Islamophobia, Racism, Death, Drug abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy and Suicidal thoughts

garyosu's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, War, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

travisppe's review

dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Really loved this book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, Drug use, and Islamophobia

thehinkydonut's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, War, and Xenophobia