Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller

10 reviews

eena's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

2.5

“Where is the wife’s side of the story in these novels? We only have the husband’s side. The husband who wishes to discard an inconvenient wife.”

This book was truly engaging and it was genuinely a good modern gothic “romance/horror” type of novel but I have to give it a 2.5/5 stars. I read this because I watched The Love Witch couple of months back and saw that Anna Biller also wrote a book, I liked the first part the most and found myself kind of getting tired towards the end. 

Part of me also felt like it was a great decision to have a third person pov because you will be able to study yourself too and how you react with everything that’s happening. But yeah, the writing wasn’t phenomenal but I’m glad that I still read and finished it, it could have been better but it’s okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

marinalikeaboatyard's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

1.0

emerald fennell would direct the shit out of this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Torture, Addiction, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

thisischels's review

dark mysterious fast-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

2.5

Really wanted to love this one, but the style just wasn’t for me. Execution fell flat, and I felt myself wanting to just get through it to have it finished. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

i_would_prefer_not_to's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

I can't tell if it's written badly as pastiche or if it's just badly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Rape, and Violence

lateromantic's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

A slow start - if you're a fan of Biller's films you'll like it, the prose has that same stilted, photographic quality as her scripts, and she drops in many references and aesthetic tidbits. I wouldn't call it feminist so much as female-gaze - there is rage but no righteousness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Murder, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

astudyinsass's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The cat should have lived. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

literally_mint's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal death, Stalking, Infidelity, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

katietregs's review

dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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

4.25

I still hope this becomes a movie! I picked this up because I absolutely adore the Love Witch, and I think if you like Anna Biller’s movies, then you’ll enjoy this book. She does a masterful job of translating the language of movies into her writing, and I think the tongue in cheek nature of the Love Witch is ever present in Bluebeards’s castle. It’s dark and disturbing, but the melodrama elevates it to something more enjoyable than a story of a smart woman falling victim to an abusive man. It’s equal parts poignant and parody. 

That said, I did find that it started to drag a bit at the 3/4s mark.

In hindsight, I appreciate how the writing became more frantic and train-of-thought as Judith started spiraling. But while I was reading I found myself getting a little bored by the page after page of circular thinking. I think some people might dislike the very straightforward description of Gavin’s crimes at the end, as it left little room for interpretation, but I think it was important that reader’s were invited to look at their own potentially problematic interpretations of the story. 

Overall, I’m very impressed by Biller’s writing. This book felt really fresh and different to me, and I’m glad I picked it up.  Like the Love Witch, this isn’t for everybody, but it’s worth your time if you like romance books and golden-age thrillers, but tire of the problematic tropes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

This book is meant to paint a sympathetic picture of how women become trapped in abusive relationships.

catherineneeds's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Murder

princess_araya's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.5

A beautiful love letter to the Gothic genre. Feminist readers can have their cake and eat it too, with the story’s self awareness and moments of reflection on genre tropes with modern terminology… while still delivering all of the delicious beats handpicked from Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca and the like. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual violence, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Animal death, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit, Physical abuse, and Death of parent