Reviews tagging 'Grief'

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

21 reviews

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, Alcohol, Abortion, Body shaming, Mental illness, Pregnancy, War, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Misogyny

leonormsousa's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

REPRESENTATION 

lesbian SCs, LI w/ PTSD, PoC SC

QUOTE 

“Anyway, at some point in a woman’s life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.” 

GENERAL OPINION 

• I devoured and loved this book!
• It's super addicting, which I wasn't expecting from historical fiction.
• Love the topic of women's liberation as well as the ones that are "left behind" during war.
• It does non-likeable-main-character perfectly.
• A bit slow at first but definitely picks up after the first one-third.
• Felt like the romance at the end was unnecessary and would have preferred it if it wasn't a part of the book. However, considering that is there, wouldn't have done it a different way.

READ IF YOU ENJOY

• non likeable and flawed main characters
• self-aware narrator
• New York as a setting
• glamour, theatre and fashion
• women in a liberation and self-discovery journey

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War

PTSD

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this very much and moved through it quickly. Ms. Gilbert has quite a knack for fiction, which surprised me a little because not everyone can do both fiction and non-fiction so well. A fun tale of the young and stupid days of our 20s, and the selfishness that keeps us alive. Also very interesting look at the impact of war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, War, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Bullying, Classism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Death

Minor: Abortion

tctimlin's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Gilbert is such an excellent story teller.  This time the focus is on NYC from the 40’s to the 70’s.  Vivian is writing a letter retelling her story to the daughter of Frank - trying to explain how she fought to live an unconventional and free life, and to explain her unconventional relationship with Frank.  The titular “City of Girls” is a musical put on by Vivian’s Aunt Peg’s theatre during WWII, but also is the theatre itself, off-off-Broadway, always struggling to pay its bills, but becoming a home to women looking for more from life than the strictures of society allow.  But of course, the story ranges widely from the CIty of Girls - looking at WWII and its effects on civilians and soldiers alike, at homosexual relations, at mid-century sexual mores, and at what it means to love.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Grief

m4rtt4's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Didn't expect to like it as much as I did! Time travelling through books has always been nice, and this time it was genuinely FUN and addicting as well. But why the f was the book written in the form of a letter? That was completely unnecessary, and I don't think the story would have been any less interesting had it just been about Vivian (as it already was), without the constant remarks to "Angela". I mean, NOBODY writes letters 500 pages long to explain anything, let alone something like this. I didn't really like Vivian either, sometimes she was painfully insufferable. However, I did like her story, and that's what matters. I might have fallen in love with the dusty, cigarette-reeking yet compelling Lily Playhouse as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and War

Moderate: Medical trauma, Infidelity, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

Minor: Biphobia and Antisemitism

naiu_cs's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

This is not the type of book I usually read, but it was really enjoyable nonetheless. 
The writing was great, and the characters were amazing. And although there were parts of the book that bored me and made me roll my eyes, it is outweighed by the moments that really touched me and made me reflect on how I am living my own life.
A very good book indeed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Antisemitism, Death, Pregnancy, Vomit, Death of parent, Rape, and War

laurenw's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.25

This book started off as a fun romp, and then slowly drew me deeper into its world and characters. Vivian is such a human character, wonderfully scuplted, and her life's story provided much entertainment. Reading this was like making a new friend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and War

Moderate: Death of parent, Antisemitism, Classism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Death

Minor: Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness

liahereonline's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

linesiunderline's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

City of Girls is one of those books that manages to feel like a whole world. If you are looking for an immersive reading experience where it’s all about getting inside the head and life of the narrator, this is a great book to pick up. By the time you’re finished, Vivian feels as alive and complicated as any person you might know in real life. She really is the heart and point of the story, and she is imperfectly glorious.

Speaking of imperfection, one of the thematic aspects of this book that I loved most is the notion that we are all messy, flawed beings, who make mistakes, and we deserve love in spite of it all.

I listened to this one and the narration was wonderful. Vivian is a character who will stay with me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

jojo_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

Minor: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Sexual violence