Reviews tagging 'Death'

Longbourn by Jo Baker

9 reviews

berodatheelf's review against another edition

emotional informative tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Longbourne was an interesting dive into the world of pride and prejudice, I felt that I had learnt a lot about the history of the regency era. The descriptions of Sarah carrying about her daily tasks fascinated me and the author had well researched the topic. 

Jo Baker didn't hesitate to hide away from the darker aspects of the period, and gave the pride and prejudice characters twists which was intriguing. 

I felt the first two parts were strongest and the third fell a little by the wayside. The flashback scenes felt a little out of place and I think would've had a stronger impact if Mrs Hill and James had spoken to Sarah about their pasts, thus creating a stronger emotional bond between the characters. It was nice to read the wrap up of the characters at the end and to know how all the characters turn out.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Blood, and Slavery

megmajor's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage

atamano's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Child death, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and War

Minor: Racism, Blood, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Excrement, Alcohol, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

pandorasirens's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism, Gore, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Violence, War, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Cursing, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol

below_average_baker's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Animal death, Blood, Slavery, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, and Death

grets_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and War

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Infertility, Animal death, Death, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia

unfiltered_fiction's review

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? No

1.5

Although I wasn't expecting this to be life-changingly scintillating read, I was really, really disappointed by it. The only praise I can offer is that some of sections of the prose were beautifully written, especially parts focusing on the flora and fauna of the English countryside.

I would have loved to see the concept handled well, as I think there are a lot of interesting and important narratives from the Georgian era that get quashed by our preference for glamorous, elegant period dramas. Sexism, classism, racism, and colonialism are all inherent to the structure of Georgian society, and they are pervasive themes in all of Austen's novels to different extents. Revisiting her stories in today's era should offer a less blinkered approach, as writers have access to endless historiographical resources, and readers are more open to issues of inequality being brought to the front of the story.

But this is a retelling absolutely riddled with problems. Points about the gruelling and filthy nature of housework are very heavily laboured and yet distinctly emotionless; through the close third person narrative style, the single black character is continuously referred to in deeply offensive terms; there is a constant, insidious threat of sexual assault.

The blatant emphasis on Mr Wickham's paedophilic interest in very young girls is entirely justified but poorly handled. The representation of Mr Bennett as a selfish and relatively heartless adulterer with an illegitimate child is completely out of character, and doesn't even fit consistently with the overall characterisation adopted in this novel.

The narrative is strangely structured, with a lengthy and frankly unnecessary flashback in the final third of the book. The constant emphasis on disgusting smells and the prevalence of EVERY bodily fluid is... just grim, and ineffective. 

All in all, it's a do not recommend from me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Pedophilia, and Excrement

amberinbookland's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Grief, Gore, Death, Child death, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

ehmannky's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is gorgeous. Beyond just seeing one of my favorite stories from a completely different point of view that brings class and race and colonialism to the forefroont, this book is so lovely. Each character is rendered so beautifully and their stories and desires are rendered so vividly. It's so full of longing and yearning and it made my heart ache. The original plot of Pride and Prejudice is so secondary to this novel and it's so amazing to see how trivial all of the wealthy people's drama is in comparison to the very real fear of the working class.

Also fuuuuuuck Wickham. He's the worst. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Blood, Death, and Violence