Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

58 reviews

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

 god this almost book slumped me
i just found the actual plot so bland and annoying

('gonna have an affair with a 50+ year old married man when im 24 and he knew me as a child :D' *meets his wife* 'omg he has a wife what a fucking bastard' like, girl...)

yeah there was just so much of them and i didnt care about either of them tbh
i also found the lack of quotation marks very jarring because of how she writes, it was just sometimes so unclear whether something was being said aloud
the narrative was also quite frustrating and hard to follow, there would be intense details about specific things and then the next line would be a completely different time in a different place, or theyd be downstairs and then yay we're upstairs, how babe? what? it just felt very disjointed to me
just frustrated me more cause there were bits of the writing that i did like or found interesting but none of them were plot related tbh 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Vomit, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

alrightcalv's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? No

1.5

I didn't really connect with this book, and only liked the character Davy. I'm unsure why writers choose to exclude quotation marks, but it negatively affects my reading experience. I found myself getting lost, and there were so many character names I kept forgetting who was who.

I'm not sad I read it, but meh.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gun violence

jacquelyneagleson's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

What’s happening in the background of this novel (the Irish troubles in 1970s) are horrifying but serve as white noise to our MC who is 24 and falls for a married man twice her age. The first 3/4 of the book are slow and meandering, a well-written account of a young girl grappling with an affair, an alcoholic mother, and being a teacher to young children during a tumultuous time in Ireland. The last 1/4 picks up the pace and becomes much more plot-driven. A great debut novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical trauma, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, and Emotional abuse

emotionalsupportblonde's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.75

A reflection on love and loss in a time of great turmoil, Trespasses left me feeling emotionally spent in a delicious and painful way. To reflect on the decisions we've made  – the power of a coincidence, a single moment in time – and to wonder what if, what if, what if...Trespasses captures the energy of a disjointed remembrance of a woman who lived and loved throughout one of modern times' greatest (and oft-forgotten) tragedies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Death, Violence, Cursing, and Grief

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

thetiniestbookclub's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

5.0

„Übertretung“ von Louise Kennedy, in einer Übersetzung aus dem Englischen von Claudia Glenewinkel und Hans-Christian Oeser im Steidl Verlag erschienen, wäre mir trotz des großartigen Covers wahrscheinlich durch die Lappen gegangen, wenn meine Kollegin nicht so voll des Lobes für diesen Debütroman gewesen wäre. Und was soll ich sagen? Absolut lesenswerte „Anti-Liebesgeschichte“. 

Louise Kennedy macht schon im Prolog deutlich, dass hier kein Happy End zu erwarten ist. Und dieses Wissen im Hinterkopf färbt den gesamten Roman, wie der nordirische Konflikt alle Beziehungen zwischen jenen färbt, die mit ihm leben (müssen). Nie ist die Liebesgeschichte zwischen der jungen, katholischen Lehrerin Cushla und dem deutlich älteren, verheirateten, protestantischen Prozessanwalt Michael rührselig oder kitschig. Kennedy schreibt schmucklos und klar von zwei nicht perfekten, mitfühlenden Menschen, die alles in ihrer Macht stehende tun, um dem Terror ihrer Umgebung mit Fürsorge zu begegnen und doch Religion, Nationalismus, Hass und Gewalt nur wenige Stunden abringen können. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, Gun violence, Death, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

caitlin_123a's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, and War

Minor: Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Blood

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Classism, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Addiction, Violence, and War

teainthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Murder

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Murder

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one didn't upend my brain, but I liked it. I think it's an interesting look at survival during basically wartime. Everyone has to keep moving, but it also feels impossible to do so. I didn't love Cushla, but I don't think I had to, and maybe it created a nice separation to be able to look at the whole story. I DID love the precious little boy at school. And I do tend to like a little forbidden romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Stalking