Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - My Policeman

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

31 reviews

kate_lemer's review against another edition

dark fast-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

1.0

I cannot believe I let myself finish this book. Just another proof that some hype is really just not worth it. In the beginning I really liked it - the descriptive language roused a very familiar melancholia within me - after years of not travelling, I longed to be in England again. That did not hold for long.

The author mentions doing some research into the topic (being a homosexual in the 20th century), so I will not dispute that. What I wonder about is her remarks about Marion - how accurate could her depiction of life in 50s England be? Or is it just the author's biased projection onto the past?

Regarding the characters, I'm confused. Tom is not acting consistently at all.

As your husband, I command you...

There certainly weren't any signs that he is a raging misogynist. The way Marion is portrayed is very misleading as well. Does the author really want us to feel sympathetic towards a homophobe? In the beginning, she is extremely naive. This becomes glaringly obvious after reading Patric's part. She's whiny, hides behind I'm a woman, I can't even take a piss without the permission from the whole wide world.

The reading experience - reading the first half - is also spoilt by the fact that something must happen for their lifes to come crashing down. Reading the second half is spoilt because

naive little Marion just have to be a spiteful bitch. She really is a piece of work. Nasty. In some ways, I think Tom and her deserve each other. They both like playing up the victim role. Also, I find it very strange that the author went so far as to make it to diary entries of Patric and Marion (Marion having the largest share of telling by far) and not letting us see Tom's perspective. The ending was horrible too. Can't imagine being in the pair's place and reading what the wretched woman had done. She caused Patric to go to prison for goodness' sake! Isn't she capable of even an ounce of self-reflection?

If I wanted to read homophobic drivel, I would've selected something written in that period.

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marireadsbooks's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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nina_iv's review against another edition

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emotional informative relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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avishajain's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

(3.25)

Harry styles world domination ig. But fr tho, this book in itself was something I wasn't expecting it to be and I'm excited to see harry play Tom (still wondering how they're gonna make the hair on his stomach blond 💀) (and oh also, there's no smut in here, so why is everyone so excited to see if Louis will body doubling for Patrick during the sex scenes since because of covid sex scenes are being filmed with the actors irl partners, because I don't think there's gonna be any sex scenes if there's no smut) Anyway, enjoy this objective review of the book, keeping aside the fact that Harry's gonna be playing Tom is the only reason I picked it up:

After reading this book all I can think about is three lives wasted, all because of homophobia, and about how angry I am at the law making it literally illegal to be gay, and how many lives have been ruined because of this. I am happy that our society is improving, but I am very well aware of the abundance of homophobia there is out there, and I just hope we can remove all of this evil from out society as soon as possible. A good book in general, but it was an average book for me, it just wasn't particularly for me but that doesn't mean you won't love it either, you might. This book did evoke a lot of feelings in me, especially how helpless I felt and how helpless queer people must have felt back then, it just makes me so angry and so sad everytime I think about it. I just hope our society keeps improving till there is no more of this evil left. I truly feel sorry for Marion, Patrick and Tom, all three of them had a disappointing life, I wish they could've simply been themselves, and after reading this I consider myself luckier than ever to be living in this age where you can be whoever you want to be, at the very least in the eyes of law. Very proud to say that the Indian law has even legalised gay marrige, and I hope every country does so, as it is our very, very basic right to be able to love whoever we want to love. An impactful book, will definitely never forget it.

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luccamaria's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"He needed me years ago, Marion." (p. 231)

yeah, fuck you marion, but also lowkey fuck you tom for continuing to be in a relationship with her and then blaming her for never leaving while it obviously takes two people to make a relationship.

i know what marion did was by far the most horrible thing in this book & this whole thing is fucked up for everyone involved, and mostly for patrick, but why is marion the only one being blamed when tom could've left her too, considering that he clearly didn't love her & it must have actually been easier for a man with a stable job to divorce and be unmarried in the 50s than it must've been for a woman?

also, we stan queen julia!

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haley_vol6's review against another edition

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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

Don't waste your time. Not worth it whatsoever.

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reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

1.5

The novel My Policeman was written by Bethan Roberts and was first published in 2012. It tells the story of the three individuals Thomas/Tom, Marion and Patrick that develop a polyamorous realtionship.

The plot on it's own had a great premise, but didn't deliver in my opinion. By making the whole story just really revolve around only these three human beings it got boring at one point. But I have to say that I would be pleased if this novel would be rewritten by the author so that these flaws could be fixed.

The characters were not my kind of dish. People who know me know that I really need well worked out characters in books. That means that they have to be diverse, have depth and not behave the same way all the time, unlike the characters in this book. I'm not saying they were bad, I'm just saying, that I personally didn't like them.
Also, I really really disliked the reapresentation of gay/achillean men in this book. The character of Patrick was in my opinion build wholly on the prejudice that gay men are sex driven and can only think about that. And that is not a good way of representing our minority.

The writing was okay. It wasn't all bad and it could buold a really beautiful atmosphere at some points by describing not too detailed but just detailed enough. But then there were moments, when that atmosphere was just suddenly tore to shreds.
Again, people who know me, know that I don't like first person POV very much, and it definitely didn't help about my opinion on this book.

So, was there anything that I liked? Not really. And I don't want you, dear reader of my review, to just read my review, because there are people out there who like this book. And maybe you are one of them.
So, yeah, I didn't like this book, but just like with all books, that is just one opinion.

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