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saliwali's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Child death, and Gaslighting
kktaylor11's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I just started Once Upon a Book Club, and this was my first box -- so I tore through it! If you’re not familiar, the book comes in a huge exciting cardboard box along with 4 gifts, each aligned to a specific moment in the book. It’s a fun way to bring the book to life.
This was my first book and while I lived the idea and the gifts, so they were waiting for me when I got home from school and I flew through the book driven by the excitement of finding the gift stickers. Honestly, I’m a bit let down by the novel itself. It’s PRETTY- a special printing with music notes on the page edges- but fairly basic/trite in the story line. <Spoiler> The 1880s story centers around a main character whose abusive father dies leaving her debt and "guardianship" of a mysterious woman in a local insane asylum. When she inquires about the patient, however, she's told "Oh, never mind -- she doesn't exist...forget about it." A concert pianist whose manager refuses to book her concerts during the official "mourning" period for her father, she decides to get a job at the asylum to try to figure out the mystery. After several days of prying in dark corners and making friends with patients, In an unrealistic - and heavily contrived turn of events, Vivienne (now "Clara" for her undercover work) finds herself drugged and suddenly a patient in the asylum. This was the first place the book made me go "hmmmm..." -- It's so sudden and urealistic. She drinks tea, feels her world go heavy, and when she wakes up a patient they tell her a man committed her. Later there are hints the "man" who committed her was the concert manager -- a character who is such a heavy handed "lets move the plot forward" device it literally made me laugh out loud.
In any case, Vivienne/Clara spends the next 200 pages trying to get someone to acknowledge she is not insane and should not be in the asylum. She gets a servant boy to get a letter to her love interest -- the boy she's grown up next to and is essentialy about to marry -- but when he shows up and talks to her she mentions she is researching the missing guardian patient and thinks the picture is one she saw at home -- and that's enough for him to decide "Yeah, I'm going to change my mind on the years of love I've had for you and write you off. Stay in the asylum." Yes, he literally decides after one conversation that she truly is insane and needs to be committed. Totally unrealistic. Then she sends a letter to the Manager and he's taken off on a 6 month trip to the Americas. Whoops. So she's trapped. The book continues like that -- I'm a huge fan of books that truly surprise you and take turns you don't see and keep you guessing...this felt like twists and turns JUST for the purpose of keeping the reader off balance. (IE: the revelation that it was actually Rev. Harford who had her committed? But he did it because the manager wanted him to so she would find the missing patient who the manager wanted to find because THAT girl had been a REALLY great pianist and he wanted to make money off of her -- but his boat went down and he drowned on his trip to America so now he's gone and she's been left inside the asylum and there's no way to get her out. (Remember how I said the manager was just to move the story along?) Surprise! Yes, I'm serious.
It also felt like a feminism thread was forced throughout -- she's an abused child, but now that her father is dead (the first pages of the novel) she wants to devote her life to finding other women who are being secretly mistreated and rescue them. There is also an undercurrent of religious (Christian) lessons throughout -- like I said this is from a book club, so I'm not sure if it's a "Christian literature" title, but the idea of "God guiding your life" is pretty heavy throughout. Overall I felt like the novel itself was pretty basic and low level - definitely not something I'd ever recommend to anyone, and a little sad since I now have this very pretty copy of a book that sucked.
As for the book club, I’m hopeful future books will be better. The gifts were ok/good. Gift 1 a set of glass mugs when the character is drinking tea— I was hoping for a nice tea, so the glasses are ok, but I already have a ton of mugs. Gift 2 a letter she finds in the asylum with rose petals — the same letter was inserted into the book. Cute- no long term value. Gift 3 a big thin soft blanket designed to look like a sheet of music. I love this one!! I cuddled up in it while reading the rest of the book! Cute and useful! My fave. Gift 4– two beeswax candles to echo the candles the main character is given that are important to the ultimate solution in the book. They are pretty and I’m sure I can use them- I just rarely burn tapers. Overall 2 stars for the book and an extra .5 stars for the gifts and experience.
This was my first book and while I lived the idea and the gifts, so they were waiting for me when I got home from school and I flew through the book driven by the excitement of finding the gift stickers. Honestly, I’m a bit let down by the novel itself. It’s PRETTY- a special printing with music notes on the page edges- but fairly basic/trite in the story line. <Spoiler> The 1880s story centers around a main character whose abusive father dies leaving her debt and "guardianship" of a mysterious woman in a local insane asylum. When she inquires about the patient, however, she's told "Oh, never mind -- she doesn't exist...forget about it." A concert pianist whose manager refuses to book her concerts during the official "mourning" period for her father, she decides to get a job at the asylum to try to figure out the mystery. After several days of prying in dark corners and making friends with patients, In an unrealistic - and heavily contrived turn of events, Vivienne (now "Clara" for her undercover work) finds herself drugged and suddenly a patient in the asylum. This was the first place the book made me go "hmmmm..." -- It's so sudden and urealistic. She drinks tea, feels her world go heavy, and when she wakes up a patient they tell her a man committed her. Later there are hints the "man" who committed her was the concert manager -- a character who is such a heavy handed "lets move the plot forward" device it literally made me laugh out loud.
In any case, Vivienne/Clara spends the next 200 pages trying to get someone to acknowledge she is not insane and should not be in the asylum. She gets a servant boy to get a letter to her love interest -- the boy she's grown up next to and is essentialy about to marry -- but when he shows up and talks to her she mentions she is researching the missing guardian patient and thinks the picture is one she saw at home -- and that's enough for him to decide "Yeah, I'm going to change my mind on the years of love I've had for you and write you off. Stay in the asylum." Yes, he literally decides after one conversation that she truly is insane and needs to be committed. Totally unrealistic. Then she sends a letter to the Manager and he's taken off on a 6 month trip to the Americas. Whoops. So she's trapped. The book continues like that -- I'm a huge fan of books that truly surprise you and take turns you don't see and keep you guessing...this felt like twists and turns JUST for the purpose of keeping the reader off balance. (IE: the revelation that it was actually Rev. Harford who had her committed? But he did it because the manager wanted him to so she would find the missing patient who the manager wanted to find because THAT girl had been a REALLY great pianist and he wanted to make money off of her -- but his boat went down and he drowned on his trip to America so now he's gone and she's been left inside the asylum and there's no way to get her out. (Remember how I said the manager was just to move the story along?) Surprise! Yes, I'm serious.
It also felt like a feminism thread was forced throughout -- she's an abused child, but now that her father is dead (the first pages of the novel) she wants to devote her life to finding other women who are being secretly mistreated and rescue them. There is also an undercurrent of religious (Christian) lessons throughout -- like I said this is from a book club, so I'm not sure if it's a "Christian literature" title, but the idea of "God guiding your life" is pretty heavy throughout. Overall I felt like the novel itself was pretty basic and low level - definitely not something I'd ever recommend to anyone, and a little sad since I now have this very pretty copy of a book that sucked.
As for the book club, I’m hopeful future books will be better. The gifts were ok/good. Gift 1 a set of glass mugs when the character is drinking tea— I was hoping for a nice tea, so the glasses are ok, but I already have a ton of mugs. Gift 2 a letter she finds in the asylum with rose petals — the same letter was inserted into the book. Cute- no long term value. Gift 3 a big thin soft blanket designed to look like a sheet of music. I love this one!! I cuddled up in it while reading the rest of the book! Cute and useful! My fave. Gift 4– two beeswax candles to echo the candles the main character is given that are important to the ultimate solution in the book. They are pretty and I’m sure I can use them- I just rarely burn tapers. Overall 2 stars for the book and an extra .5 stars for the gifts and experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Dementia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
The book is set in an asylum (which is on the back cover) but what isn't mentioned is that the main character is an unnecessary patient in the asylum for the majority of the book. This storyline -- being trapped in an asylum against your will - could be very troubling for some people.
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