Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Anneler by Brit Bennett

108 reviews

lwl000's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

As a big fan of The Vanishing Half, I expected great things from this one too. I love Bennett’s writing and the beautiful, poetic statements she sprinkles through this novel. Unfortunately, for me, the storyline and the characters just fell flat. I found the characters stale and without much depth; most of all (and this is odd since I usually love some moody/sad characters) they were just all so dang wan and depressing. I didn’t see any character development or growth here, and I felt we ended up right where we started: with judgement from others and guilt/regret around certain life decisions.

I found the treatment of the themes of abortion and sex/infidelity, through the lens of righteousness/piety of a church community, to also be tiresome and unoriginal.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Grief, Infertility, Suicide, Child abuse, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

sunshineariel's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Sexual assault

someryarns's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Abortion, Death of parent, Suicide, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

liliannkuu's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

3.75

Interesting, reflective depiction of motherhood in its different forms. Characters felt raw and real, but the (love) story between them didn't fully sweep me into it. Also, the themes didn't touch me personally so much for it to get full stars.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Abortion

beetsbydwight's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Abortion, and Infidelity

Moderate: Infertility, Grief, and Death of parent

lillypowell's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Suicide

Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility and Cursing

paigemushaw's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Abortion, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Sexual assault

awkwardllama's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Death of parent, Abortion, and Infertility

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Alcohol, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Racism

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

This was a well-written story that, unfortunately, wasn’t for me. I can recognize the great prose and themes in this novel, which I thought Bennett crafted with great care. I think it’s safe to say that I just wasn’t the target audience. I didn’t find the book dull—the main characters really spoke for themselves and had a lot going for them—but I wasn’t especially invested in what was happening either.

Something that I’ve also been trying to parse out but don’t have the words for was the discourse around abortion in this novel. I could have misinterpreted something, but I got the impression that Bennett was taking a rather critical approach to abortion that seemed to weigh down on one of the protagonists, Nadia, significantly. I don’t know if this is a result of the setting (a Black community with strong Christian affiliations), but I really wasn’t sure what to make of it.

All-in-all, an interesting enough book that I think will resonate with some (especially for those interested in books engaging with motherhood and relationships); I just wasn’t one of those people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicide, Grief, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Racism, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Alcoholism

jouljet's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Suicide, Abortion, Sexual assault, and Child abuse