Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

32 reviews

mdal26's review against another edition

emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child death, Grief, Incest, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

acatmother's review against another edition

There was so much graphic trauma that did not feel like added to the plot. It was too upsetting to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, and Pedophilia

bellaolmstead's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

kyraelisabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

eule's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is haunting and beautiful at the same time. The characters were incredibly vivid and traceable meaning that you could feel how torn apart Elle is between the past and the present. Lovely depiction of nature and the fragility of relationships. 
So much (!!!) emotional trauma in one book. Please check the trigger warnings, it gets pretty graphic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Incest, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, and Grief

sunshine_2's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I had not read a book for myself for a while before randomly picking this up at the library. It was an alright jump back into reading novels; it’s an interesting story that also has highly descriptive imagery for the beautiful setting. However, it didn’t entirely grip me as I didn’t find myself rooting for the prominent love story. A large amount of characters were introduced throughout the story, and it was confusing at times to keep track of everybody. Additionally, there were multiple points depicting upsetting acts that I was not expecting. The ending is obscure and is left to the reader’s interpretation. Overall, it was okay, but I’m not sure I would recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Child death, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

isabezza's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

I was recommended this book as "one to read in the sun" by a close friend who shares my interest in emotional, reflective reads. Miranda Cowley Heller writes a powerful monologue on motherhood and living with multiple forms of trauma. This novel is a difficult read, but one which inspires the importance of the people around us, and encourages us to question who we love and what we would do for them. 

Knowledge can be power, but it can also be poison. 

There is no such thing as unforgivable between people who love each other. But even as I'm thinking it, I know it's not really true. 

Although the ending of this book was a little underwhelming, this captures the nature of this book, demonstrating that whatever we do (or do not do), life continues. Set in a cycle of summers and the Paper Palace, we follow our protagonist as she describes her family, their flaws and losses; as she reflects on her traumatic past. 

I wonder if he would love me if he could see inside my head - the pettiness, the dirty linen of my thoughts, the terrible things I have done. 

 
I did not find this book as gripping, powerful, or 'lifechanging' as I had hoped, but would recommend to someone who enjoys a similar writing style. 

The passage of time bought only a messy tangle of branches, marking my failure to heal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Child death

Moderate: Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Suicide, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

dreadpiraterudis's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Lots of trigger warnings for this book. Had way more traumatic content than I thought was necessary- not really sure the suffering furthered the plot in a tangible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, and Sexual assault

kaffee_auf_ex's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Beautifully written, yet so incredibly problematic.

Every adult in this book only exists to abuse Elle. Even strangers only exist to punch her or break into her house and assault her. All the adults are abusive towards children. Trauma is there for pure shock value and to be edgy. 

Reese Witherspoon teased that there would be a fascinating love triangle. She absolutely broke my trust. You call this a love triangle? 

- mild spoilers ahead -

Does it deserve to be a love triangle if the husband and mother team up to abuse Elle? If we are told that she loves him but everytime she things to herself that she loves him it is in a situation in which he was being toxic because that's all he ever is? He is a red flag walking from the very moment he comes into her life. All he ever does is gaslight her and never take her seriously but instead bully her together with her mother who is incredibly abusive.

And maybe this could be okay if there was something that we get out of all that. If she ever realised he was being abused or really call out her mother for the incredible amount of abuse. But she never does.

And I won't even talk about Jonas not being a consent king because compared to all of the rape and abuse going on, he is the nicest person in the book if you don't count Anna who is my favourite character.

The story is unnecessarily long and filled with some more abuse that we don't need. Yes, there's an abusive spouse of a parent. Oh wait, they get remarried and we get another abusive spouse because the first wasn't enough. Oh, here's a family friend or whatever behaving inappropriately towards children. 

And here is some abuse that another family member face that is not directly relevant but still told to us in graphic detail like all of the rape is because, well, shock value. 

It's so sad that a woman can't have character growth without sexual drama but wait - there's no character growth. Elle is one of the worst main characters I have ever read because she is passive from the beginning even when her own passiveness hurts more people than just herself and she never learns. She never calls out abuse for what it is.

Let me summarise what this book is: Straight cis  rich white people abusing each other and especially children because they don't have enough struggles in their lives to keep athem entertained and plot convenience. Easily the least diverse book I have read in my live because it doesn't feature anything else than straight cis rich white people.

One mayor question remains: Why did the author waste her incredible writing talent for such an edgy and tone deaf story? To sell more books? To have more chances at having it picked up for TV adaption? Because damn, that woman can write. She really sucked me in. I hope for her to get some perspective and write something less problematic because yes, I would like to read more of her writing, just a whole different story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Child death and Terminal illness

cathybbookshelf's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment