Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Feast by Emily O'Grady

6 reviews

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 Feast unfolds over a single weekend in a remote Scottish manor house. Alison, a retired actress, and her partner Patrick, an aging musician, live there and have recently been joined by his teenage daughter Neve. He has decided to hold a party for her 18th birthday, and her mother Shannon flies in from Australia for the occasion. The book is narrated by the three women in turn, and we learn about their past as well as getting to observe them in the present. All are hiding secrets which eventually get revealed. This book was full of layers, cleverly constructed (loved that we never heard directly from Patrick and only got to see him through the eyes others ), and well-written. It's also populated by unlikable characters who have and continue to behave badly in ways both large and small. With no one to root for the only thing that kept me going was waiting to see what awfulness would be revealed next. And because the characters escaped the worst of the consequences they should have had coming to them that was not as satisfying as I wished. While I appreciated the author's skill, this was a book that didn't mesh with my personal taste. It opens with a rather disturbing scene where a rabbit is killed and includes plenty of other triggers as well. Listing them veers into spoiler territory but check out Storygraph if you need to know more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

curatoriallyyours's review

dark 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

3.0

While the writing was, at times, quite good, the character development was a bit choppy - the character Alison seemed like two totally different people at different times in the book. Multiple characters were

secretly horrible and pretty unlikeable

and there was a bit of gore, which wasn’t super icky but I could have done without it. The story also felt a little disjointed to me. I was compelled enough to keep reading the book to find out what lay beneath the facade of the characters (and to finish it in one day) but ultimately this book is pretty forgettable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Medical content, and Child death

Minor: Dementia and Death of parent

jouljet's review

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, and Miscarriage

carlytenille's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Stalking, and Dementia

liesthemoontells's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Beautifully written, disturbing portrait of a dark, fractured family full of secrets. 

The glimpses of humanity given to each character despite their awfulness is a testament to the author's talent, as is the way that the tangle of secrets slowly unravels throughout the narrative.

The prose dragged a little at times, and the book is relentlessly bleak - I can't say whether I enjoyed it or not - but it's a short read if you are looking for something dark and punchy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Stalking, Vomit, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Dysphoria, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

redheadragereads's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-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

Synopsis:
Set amongst the eerie Scottish countryside the story follows three women over the course of an eighteenth birthday celebration weekend. Each of them has a deep, dark secret. 

My thoughts: 
Feast was all kinds of creepy in the best possible way. 

I love a book that rips characters apart and lets you really get to know them- O'Grady does this without making obvious what she is doing. 

If for no other reason, read this book for the atmosphere- it has a touch of gothic, horror, and thriller which makes for an unsettling and addictive read. 



Thank you to the publisher, Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my review. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Drug use, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child death