Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

9 reviews

gothic_moss's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Wow! What a thrilling, horrific ride! I really liked this book's dark Victorian, and Gothic atmosphere/setting. The writing style was perfect-stylish and to the point, and once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I can't decide whether I liked the ending or not though, It was delightfully shocking, but I may have wanted more explanation? I'm not sure to be honest, as I am still processing it. 
If you like Victorian horror, spooky houses, creepy dolls/portraits, family secrets, unreliable narrators, and a non-chronological timeline, you'll love this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

aloy's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Murder, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical content, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, and Animal death

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

pinkyoshi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Grief, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Confinement, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Vomit, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, and Animal death

bxnnny's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

i found the overall plot to be interesting but honestly had a hard time staying focused and i'm not sure if that was a problem with me or the book. it was hard to like elsie because, though she came from a working-class family and had only been married into a more well-off family for a month, she still treated all of the servants, maids, etc. like they were beneath her, which i didn't find to be entirely conducive with her own background and upbringing. all of the twists were easily predictable but i did still find the story generally interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death, Sexism, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, and Death of parent

kimmychii5's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexism

ggcd1981's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Rating: 4.50 estrelas 

TRIGER WARNING: Death, Miscarriage, Death of Parent, Fire Injuries, Suicide, Murder, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Mental Illness, Racism, Ableism, Animal Death, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use 

No meu retorno a leitura acabei descobrindo que gosto bastante de Terror e Mistério Gótico. Desde sempre tive essa impressão pois sempre apreciei filmes que eram parte do gênero, e gostei bastante de “Os inocentes” quando o li em minha adolescência. Mas foi a partir do meu retorno a leitura no ano de Nosso Senhor de 2020 que realmente se tornou claro pra mim que Terror/Mistério Gótico é um dos meus subgêneros de ficção preferidos. The Silent Companions é uma entrada recente desse subgênero. Apesar de recente a autora, Laura Purcell, criou uma atmosfera Gótica da época Vitoriana bastante intrigante, com todos os dias cinzas, casas assombradas, ambientação de época que um Terror gótico tem direito. Eu gostei bastante da atmosfera e dos personagens. Elsie, Sarah. Jolyon foram personagens que gostei de seguir e até mesmo a irritante Mabel, acredito ter sido essa a intenção da autora. Elsie foi uma protagonista forte. Ela encarou situações que eu nunca suportaria (andar a noite sozinha na casa sabendo que “os companheiros” estavam em todo lugar é um grande “NÃO” para mim) e mostrou coragem sempre que necessário, todo o tempo demonstrando que lutava contra o medo que sentia. 

Devo admitir que minhas habilidades de compreensão de texto não deviam estar 100%, pois ao checar no Goodreads perguntas sobre a obra vi que um leitor perguntou se Jolyon era filho de Elsie que havia sido abusada por seu pai. A autora respondeu que sim ao leitor. Fiquei bege. O abuso sexual por parte do pai passou pela minha cabeça, mas em nenhum momento desconfiei que o apego de Elsie por Jolyon era porque este era seu filho e não irmão. Isso torna os acontecimentos do final ainda mais significantes. 

Algo que não gostei na história foi que na seção em que foi contado como a família Bainbridge do falecido marido de Elsie, Rupert, adquiriu os Silent companions no ano de 1635, após o trágico sacrifício do cavalo do rei e desonra da família Bainbridge, Anne Bainbridge tentou devolver os companheiros a loja em que havia comprado, só que, surpresa, surpresa, todo o prédio e a loja haviam desaparecido. Isso foi desnecessariamente cliché. A autora poderia ter, por exemplo, feito o prédio estar lá, porém vazio de forma a implantar a dúvida se o vendedor era humano ou não. Da forma como foi feita parece cliché e ao mesmo tempo desconectado de todos os outros elementos da história. Porque uma loja fantasma apareceria ali, naquele momento, ao mesmo tempo que Hetta, filha de Anne, já era um elemento sobrenatural na casa dos Bainbridge? A autora poderia ter construído uma relação entre a loja e Hetta para não parecer tão desconectado, aleatório e coincidente. 

Outra ressalva que tenho sobre o livro, mas esta porque sou sensível a crueldade contra animais, foram as mortes do cavalo e da vaca, as quais foram cruéis. Mas tenho que admitir que houve proposito para as mortes e estas não foram descritas de forma gráfica. 

Gostei bastante do desenvolvimento da amizade entre Elsie e Sarah. O relacionamento delas começou com antipatia por parte de Elsie e evoluiu para que as duas só conseguissem confiar uma na outra. Isso tornou o final, em que Hetta possuiu Sarah permanentemente, mais triste e amargo, pois eu realmente queria que elas continuassem juntas. E por fim o livro deixou um final aberto em que não sabemos se Elsie foi condenada a forca ou continuou presa no Hospício. Acredito, que apesar de aberto, o final foi adequado. 

Gostei do livro. Pelas questões mencionadas, particularmente o desaparecimento da loja, não posso dar 5 estrelas, mas acredito em um sólido 4.5 estrelas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Rape

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

0.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide, Stalking, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

ameliac_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Xenophobia, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Medical content, Infertility, Gore, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Body horror, and Blood

kamreadsandrecs's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

Well, that was DEFINITELY a step up from my last horror read! Wasn't sure what to make of Elsie at first, but I warmed up to her eventually. I had some pretty complicated feelings about her, mostly because of the way she treated some of the people around her, but I appreciate having those complicated feelings. Means she's a nuanced, complicated character, which is something I always appreciate (especially in the wake of my last horror novel read, which featured a protag with about as much nuance as cardboard).

As for the horror story itself, it's got a very psychological bent, and keeps the reader asking if what Elsie's experiencing is "real" or not. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, though. I mean, it makes sense, overall, that that should be how it ends, but... Hm. Not sure how I feel about it. Maybe there's something about the execution of it that doesn't sit well with me? I mean, I don't MIND it, conceptually, just... Not sure I feel about it overall. Still, not a bad read at all! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse

Further content warnings regarding the novel, but also considered spoilers for the plot.

It's implied, but never explicitly stated, that the protagonist was sexually abused as a child, and that her "brother" is, in fact, her son from that assault. The implication is subtle enough that the reader may or may not pick it up, but I thought it would be good leave this note, regardless.