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lizisreadingagain's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s difficult to review this fictionalized story of the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. I found most of the book to be a page-turner because of the way it is written and how I’m intrigued by C.S. Lewis, but some things bothered me that leave me torn on my opinion.
I’m very fond of letter writing, so when ongoing correspondence is an element in a story, it has my attention. This book had plenty of it.
I really loved the story, the people, and the literary atmosphere, and I was prepared to say it’s probably the best book I’ll read this year. So what has me torn? It’s the way Joy was portrayed. I felt uncomfortable at times. The book is written in Joy’s voice, and as she begins realizing she’s in love with Jack, the descriptions of her feelings and thoughts were sensual. It was clear that she wanted to be intimate with him. After a couple of these descriptions, I checked the back of the book to make sure it was a Christian publisher. It seemed out of place to me and unnecessary. There was enough information to know she was in love with him without inserting the sensual. I know I’m quite conservative and understand that other readers will not be bothered by it at all.
I want to give 5 stars for the storytelling but pull back for this bit of content that bugs me. I guess I’ll land on 4 stars.
Content Warnings:
🙊: Mild language
❤️: Several sensual descriptions, and one brief married intimacy scene without graphic descriptions
⚠️: Emotional abuse, infidelity, frequent alcohol consumption
I’m very fond of letter writing, so when ongoing correspondence is an element in a story, it has my attention. This book had plenty of it.
I really loved the story, the people, and the literary atmosphere, and I was prepared to say it’s probably the best book I’ll read this year. So what has me torn? It’s the way Joy was portrayed. I felt uncomfortable at times. The book is written in Joy’s voice, and as she begins realizing she’s in love with Jack, the descriptions of her feelings and thoughts were sensual. It was clear that she wanted to be intimate with him. After a couple of these descriptions, I checked the back of the book to make sure it was a Christian publisher. It seemed out of place to me and unnecessary. There was enough information to know she was in love with him without inserting the sensual. I know I’m quite conservative and understand that other readers will not be bothered by it at all.
I want to give 5 stars for the storytelling but pull back for this bit of content that bugs me. I guess I’ll land on 4 stars.
Content Warnings:
🙊: Mild language
❤️: Several sensual descriptions, and one brief married intimacy scene without graphic descriptions
⚠️: Emotional abuse, infidelity, frequent alcohol consumption
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Medical trauma
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
bethlee's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism
author2223's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Gaslighting
kfrickle's review
It started off with some hard topics, and there were some parts that were too descriptive for me. I didn't like that her husband made excuses with his infidelity, specifically in chapter 6, and it was one of those descriptive parts. I also wasn't a fan of Joy having an emotional affair with Lewis though she didn't think she was. She also didn't seem present with her family and boys for she was thinking of Lewis and their correspondence with each other. I also felt like she leaned a little on the victim mentality side. Even though the narrator for the audio book was great, I decided to stop at 12% because Joy was about to leave to England leaving her husband and children behind. (She did go because of her health but considering she already was thinking of Lewis and being with him, it bothered me). <Spoiler>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Suicide
momloves2read's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity
amberjackonski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
theespressoedition's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
2.5
Oh, friends, how I wanted to just adore this book. After reading Once Upon a Wardrobe, I made the assumption that this book would put me under the same kind of magical spell. However, that wound up not being the case.
I'm rather glad I didn't read this book sooner. I've had it on my TBR for several years now and if I had picked it up last summer as I planned, I may not have ever given Once Upon a Wardrobe a try. They are so incredibly different it's almost startling. Instead, while I was disappointed that I didn't like this book as much, I'm at least glad that I got a chance to enjoy the other title first!
I've always been fascinated by C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia were what fueled my love for reading and piqued my interest in fantasy. Reading this book gave me a lot of insight into Joy, his wife, and their lives. What it didn't give me was a lot of joy, if you get my drift? Not only was the pacing absolutely painfully slow at times, but the subject matter was dense and sad for the majority of the book. Instead of focusing on the good parts of their life, it focused a lot on the truly depressing nature of Joy's previous marriage and all of the hard times that followed.
While this is marked "historical fiction," I'm truly not sure what about it was fictional. It read like a biography more than it did like a story. Around the 25% point of the audiobook (on 2.8x speed, mind you), I thought, "Okay, I can't have much further to go, right?" I was bored stiff while reading this, unfortunately. I really wanted to enjoy it more, but just couldn't get into it. If I weren't such a stickler when it comes to reading, I would've DNF'd based on my interest in it - or really, lack thereof.
Well, now I know everything I could have possibly wanted (or not wanted) to know about C.S. Lewis and his wife, their bizarre relationship that took way too long to even happen, and how much I actually don't really care for either of them as people now. Yikes.
I'm rather glad I didn't read this book sooner. I've had it on my TBR for several years now and if I had picked it up last summer as I planned, I may not have ever given Once Upon a Wardrobe a try. They are so incredibly different it's almost startling. Instead, while I was disappointed that I didn't like this book as much, I'm at least glad that I got a chance to enjoy the other title first!
I've always been fascinated by C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia were what fueled my love for reading and piqued my interest in fantasy. Reading this book gave me a lot of insight into Joy, his wife, and their lives. What it didn't give me was a lot of joy, if you get my drift? Not only was the pacing absolutely painfully slow at times, but the subject matter was dense and sad for the majority of the book. Instead of focusing on the good parts of their life, it focused a lot on the truly depressing nature of Joy's previous marriage and all of the hard times that followed.
While this is marked "historical fiction," I'm truly not sure what about it was fictional. It read like a biography more than it did like a story. Around the 25% point of the audiobook (on 2.8x speed, mind you), I thought, "Okay, I can't have much further to go, right?" I was bored stiff while reading this, unfortunately. I really wanted to enjoy it more, but just couldn't get into it. If I weren't such a stickler when it comes to reading, I would've DNF'd based on my interest in it - or really, lack thereof.
Well, now I know everything I could have possibly wanted (or not wanted) to know about C.S. Lewis and his wife, their bizarre relationship that took way too long to even happen, and how much I actually don't really care for either of them as people now. Yikes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Cancer and Chronic illness
Minor: Misogyny and War
chloewakham's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
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