Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

6 reviews

aether_seawo1f's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Glacial pacing for the first 600 pages, the last 400 are decent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Ableism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War

dielilla's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Infertility, and Vomit

schnarlie's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Slavery, Pregnancy, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Racism, War, Abandonment, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and Infertility

novelyon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief, Infertility, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

seanml's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad 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

4.25

It can be hard to tell the difference between an author’s thoughts and a character’s thoughts. I’m still not entirely sure when a hypersexual thought came from Follett or when it came from 

Tom, or William

. The first half of this book had me unsure, reading through the atrocities of 

William Hamleigh

  in graphic detail, and the sexual emphasis placed on 

Ellen.

  However, by the second half it had gone above and beyond. I’m sure it isn’t perfect, but it is a monumental effort and execution. 8.5/10. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Cultural appropriation, Excrement, Gore, Infertility, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, and Self harm

utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I was wary of this book despite a glowing recommendation as it was longer than anything I've read in years, so I put on a 10-hour Youtube video of medieval-sounding music and braced myself for a long slog. I needn't have worried - I was hooked from the prologue. I found the characters were easy to become familiar with, and whether they were drawn as 'good' or 'bad' archetypes or somewhere in between, their motivations were pretty consistent. I particularly enjoyed the self-assuredness of many of the female characters, and how much smarter than most of the men they are! Like other reviewers, I did find some of the graphic scenes of rape difficult to read, though they certainly serve to make the 'villains' utterly detestable. The plot is tightly woven - the ending ties up loose threads across the numerous characters' storylines. The amount of description was sufficient to establish a sense of place without needing to describe every feature, the pacing was good - I never found myself bored, even in the more sedate sections of the books - and the building of tension before more climactic events was masterful - I frequently found myself wanting to cheat and flick forward a few pages to know what would happen to the characters. The positioning of characters in the book at big historical events allowed these events to be conveyed with more immediacy, rather than always relying on hearing from messengers. I think it also helped to highlight the events at Kingsbridge and the trials of the characters there as a microcosm of the turbulent time it is set in, rather than being singularly exciting individuals. The central fixture of cathedral-building was also a nice insight into the developing architecture of the time. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and will certainly read the sequel soon to find out what happens to Kingsbridge next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Bullying, Death, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Moderate: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, and Infertility

Minor: Islamophobia and Antisemitism