Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Corset by Laura Purcell

23 reviews

bonky24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Murder, Death of parent, and Child death

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Ooooh this book was so satisfying!

We have two protagonists: Dorothea, an oddly progressive (by early Victorian standards) with an obsession with phrenology and Ruth, a seamstress and alleged murderess who seems to believe that she can impart curses with her stitches.

The two have had very different upbringings, but both have lost a parent to ugly deaths.

Dorothea becomes obsessed with Ruth's case, determined to prove that the young inmate can be reformed and, in doing so, change the very shape of her anatomy.

As Ruth's horrifying past is revealed, Dorothea comes to doubt some fundamental truths about her life and the nature of human morality.

The crimes are so layered and complex, the characters are deliciously complicated, and the ending felt so, so good.

I loved Purcell already, but I think I need to buy all her damn books now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Blood, Classism, Bullying, Racism, Body horror, Gore, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

silverthistle's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse

racl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and the way it jumped between two wildly different perspectives - a rich debutante and a prisoner who has always known poverty. It kept the mystery alive of whether or not the magic of Ruth's sewing was real

but I didn't like the way it waffled at the end. I preferred the 3 pages we were certain she had no magic and was framed to the last page where it's proved she likely does have power

Still, I liked it. It doesn't go into excessive detail on the torture the seamstresses go through which saves it from being gratuitous in my opinion and keeps the focus on the plot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Domestic abuse

librarianjennifer's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Murder, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Torture, and Vomit

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This was one of my 12 recs from 12 friends and the second Purcell novel I’ve read. I was pulled in right away and didn’t want to put this one down!

The story is told through switching POVs between Ruth and Dorothea. I preferred Ruth to Dorothea, Dorothea’s storyline could be annoying and she doesn’t have as much depth  (her one personality trait is measuring people’s skulls to determine their traits and that constant narrative was irritating, although very Victorian).

The childbirth scene was gross and traumatizing-I had to look away and felt nauseous 🤢 But on that note, Purcell does such a good job with putting you in the novel. Very atmospheric writing and great job building the Victorian backdrop!

The twists were unexpected and well done. Pacing was also well done, as the tension slowly builds throughout as we hear Ruth’s story right alongside Dorothea. I did however feel slightly unsatisfied with the ending, it was a bit abrupt and wish we got an epilogue to wrap things up for Dorothea’s future after that final scene.

Overall an ominous, creeping story in the vein of a Victorian gothic horror story! Purcell is officially a favorite author I’ll be reading more from 💗 I recommend for anyone wanting a gothic historical mystery with complex characters and atmospheric writing (but be wary of the content warnings because it’s very graphic and dark)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Gore, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Torture, Confinement, Child death, Sexism, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Self harm

asolis's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was technically well-written, but I can't describe it more positively than "a solid OK."

I could not bring myself to care at all about Dorothea or her plot line. Her chapters felt like a reprieve from the misery of Ruth's story, at best, or an annoying interruption to her story, at worst. 

While I didn't get the sense that the book was written with this intention, I think one of its strengths was how unflinchingly it showed that the darkest evil was actually the way poverty was criminalized in Victorian England, something that remains distressingly true around the world today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Torture, and Vomit

sasisaskia's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery and Racism

holliebye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Body shaming, Self harm, Suicide, Slavery, and Excrement

riflelizards's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Violence, Racism, Slavery, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Child death