Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones

3 reviews

bethsiekierawalker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Stalking, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual violence

sarah984's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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? Yes

3.0

This is a multi-pov novel set in Barbados in (aside from a few flashbacks) 1984 showcasing the explosive ways several people’s disparate lives come together in one moment in time. 

This book left me a little conflicted. In a general technical sense, the writing is beautiful, particularly in the sections in second person, and while there was sort of a feeling of being somehow distanced from the characters I think that might be necessary to get through some of the story’s tough subject matter.

I was expecting a heavy read but maybe not quite this heavy. The hopeful note at the end was nice but I was left wondering what I should be taking away aside from how difficult everyone's lives were.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Police brutality, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Vomit

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Wow. This book is a tragedy from start to finish. Brilliantly written. I felt so heartbroken for some of the characters and so angry at others. It’s much more intense than I expected.
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The way Jones conveys the inner workings of an abused woman’s mind, how she has to view every item in her home and assess it for its ability to inflict pain, how she has to tiptoe constantly around anything that might anger her husband, is done painfully well.
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The way she reveals the complicated nature of power dynamics between people, particularly between men and women—and the way she explores generational trauma and how that affects who you become—is masterful.
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My main issues were that the pace was a bit slow and the sequence of events and glimpses into other character’s lives could have been tighter. I found myself not really thinking about the book when I wasn’t actively reading it, or forgetting about some characters after having been drawn into their story chapters before.
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All in all, pick this one up but prepare yourself—and I will absolutely be following Cherie Jones in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Stalking, Miscarriage, and Death of parent