Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

12 reviews

joanna_banana's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

I had checked this out of the library several weeks before I started it. Then I got COVID! It was the perfect book to listen to while resting. I didn’t really like Vivian, though I thoroughly enjoyed the narration and was pleased to see that Blair Brown won an Audie for this. The pacing overall seemed a little off - deeply detailed in NYC for the first half or so and then kinda mixed pacing for the rest, you’d get into dialogue and heart wrenching details, and then zoom back out to narration to Angela. I enjoyed the last part, but again, it was odd to have something like 60 years of life covered so quickly. She also got into these monologues on topics like her sex life when she is older and I thought that was too much or could have been woven into the conversations better. And some characters just drop off! Becomes all about Vivian. Overall, I was entertained and the novel offers some thoughtful perspective on the expectations of young women in the 1940s and how that changed or did not change through the decades. I felt like Vivian was fairly self-aware by then end, but also still quite proud and vain in an annoyingly forced way. So, I guess it was just inconsistent for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and War

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Biphobia, Sexual violence, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Car accident, and Mental illness

ariannalane's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad slow-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: Alcohol, Sexual content, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, War, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Abortion and Addiction

Minor: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

brookey8888's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this! I honestly had no clue what this was about when I picked it up, I just heard good things about it. Also that people compare it to Evelyn Hugo(which yes. It’s the same sort of plot. 

I just loved seeing Vivian come into her own and her found family. Vivian was honestly so iconic and funny. The commentary on women and sexuality was also done well in my opinion. Honestly the plot doesn’t happen I feel like till 200 pages, but I didn’t mind because I was so invested in the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Cursing, Chronic illness, Misogyny, War, Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, and Classism

karyan1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, War, Sexual content, Body shaming, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident

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

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

erinnz's review against another edition

adventurous sad slow-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

3.25

A less exciting Evelyn Hugo story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Antisemitism

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

witmol's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

Vivian receives news from a friend's daughter, Angela. Angela's mother has passed and Angela now wants to know: "who were you to my father?". The framing story means this novel is ostensibly a long letter in response that works as part-'How I met your father' and part-memoir. On one hand this device feels gimmicky, but on the other, it's a great way to focus the parts of the story that will lead to both the identity of Angela's father and the salient parts of Viv's life that intersects with his.

The first two-thirds of the book therefore feel over-indulgent as Viv reminisces about her youth. Gilbert makes certain that all the threads of this pre-WWII segment do actually connect with the character in question, entertainingly so, but in some regards it's easy to lose the facade of a letter in its lengthy diversions. This is not to say the novel lags. It canters along with Gilbert delivering vivid prose, and a distinct sense of place. While we don't get to 'see' much of New York through descriptions, we 'feel' it through a young Vivian instead. 

When we do get to Viv meeting Angela's father, by comparison it feels anti-climactic. Viv has already described other characters in such great detail and with some effervescence that this character, while well drawn, feels distant and ancillary rather than central to her life. In short, the narrative here feels as if Viv is trying to convince us (and Angela) that her father was one of the most important figures in her life. It's the 'trying to convince' part that grates especially, particularly as the denouement does have a deep and abiding message about the nature of friendship and the value of being with someone and accepting the truth of each other without judgement.

Gilbert's expert handling of plot and pace, together with her witty writing, however, do make this a worthwhile read, and I'm more than pleased that she continues to write interesting female characters who do not need a partner to make them interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual content, War, and Alcohol