Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

40 reviews

punchofwishes's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

What a read! This book alternated between having me firmly in its grasp and leaving me bored 100 pages at a time. The twists are interesting and the plot compelling even if the characters aren’t as much. It’s a difficult read that I am glad to have experienced even if it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Mental illness

kpwxx's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Dementia, Deportation, Stalking, Abortion, and Eating disorder

arijones91's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse

bruisedtigers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely enamoured with this. 

I understand why some people would find it slow or hard to get through. It did drag in certain spots, and likely could've been edited down. However, I adored all of these characters, the twists and turns, and felt so much of it in my gut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

pancakes4all's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 The plot was slowed by over description at times, but the book had the feel of a Gothic mystery with just enough twists and turns to keep me interested.   

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

This book is like a mix of Dickens Oliver Twist and Wilkie Collins The Woman in White

lironore's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

Sarah Waters est une conteuse hors pair ! Même les longueurs avaient tout leur sens. La tension est intense et on se demande toujours quel rebondissement viendra chambouler l'intrigue. J'ai eu dû mal à arrêter de lire. 
- écrit comme un classique mais avec un talent incroyable pour le conte. La plume est fluide et pleine de sens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Torture, Sexism, Death, and Blood

jayisreading's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

2.25

I certainly am not the first person to have picked this book up because they enjoyed The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan-wook. And, with that said, I have to admit that I actually didn’t enjoy Fingersmith as much as I thought I would. For one, I was expecting something far more fast-paced. Instead, I found myself slogging through long and slowish-paced chapters. When the twists came, it heightened the story a bit and grabbed my attention. However, the chapters in-between those twists didn’t feel particularly engaging.

Waters isn’t a bad writer by any means, but I felt that there was a lack of character development that would have gotten the reader more invested. Things happened to Maud and Sue, but… that’s really it. They reacted to certain events, but there wasn’t any significant development in their characters that made it feel this book was worth reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

danielforshort's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Death

septemberdark's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Ableism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content

catbuechler's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Mental illness