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stitchbooks22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
1.75
I was drawn to the cover of this book and the premise sounded interesting. However it was not well executed, did not deliver what was advertised and the story was pretty boring.
I nearly considered giving it 2 stars throughout the middle of the book as the writing was pretty good, despite the boring story and characters. But, unfortunately, the ending made me drop my rating down as it was not that good.
I nearly considered giving it 2 stars throughout the middle of the book as the writing was pretty good, despite the boring story and characters. But, unfortunately, the ending made me drop my rating down as it was not that good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Ableism, Abandonment, Death, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Classism, Torture, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
abi_g_mac's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An incredibly moving story and really well written. Although it is quite short the author succeeds in bringing to life the struggles, pain and dangers women faced in 19th century Paris, while still leaving room for some sense of hope in a shared sisterhood. Highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness and Sexual violence
pjwanders's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, Child death, Mental illness, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Rape, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt
foxonabook's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
CAWPILE Rating
Characters: 5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Writing: 4 | Plot: 4 | Intrigue: 3.5 | Logic: 5 | Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rating: 4.43/10 | Star Rating: 2.5/5
I should start off by saying that the book is definitely readable and at 224 pages, it’s quick to get through. I also think Mas is good at worldbuilding. However, I think the book’s length holds it back from being a good book since Mas is covering so much in very few pages.
Characters: 5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Writing: 4 | Plot: 4 | Intrigue: 3.5 | Logic: 5 | Enjoyment: 5
Overall Rating: 4.43/10 | Star Rating: 2.5/5
I should start off by saying that the book is definitely readable and at 224 pages, it’s quick to get through. I also think Mas is good at worldbuilding. However, I think the book’s length holds it back from being a good book since Mas is covering so much in very few pages.
The story starts with Louise, a young woman susceptible to ‘fits’ following a traumatic incident three years earlier. She is regularly featured in Dr Charcot‘s weekly lectures and believes that she will soon be more famous than Augustine, Charcot’s previous demonstration subject who successfully escaped from the Salpêtrière. We then meet Eugénie, the daughter of a bourgeois lawyer who admits her into the care of the hospital when he finds out that Eugénie claims to be able to see and interacts with spirits. Lastly, there’s Geneviève, the ward supervisor who admires Charcot’s vision and talent.
There are a lot of protagonists for the reader to get to know and I would have liked to have learned more about them than what’s immediately relevant to the story. I don’t think the story would have been better had Mas only chosen one protagonist to centre the book around, but I would have liked for them to be more nuanced and complex. I thought that the secondary characters were even more noticeably one-dimensional as well as forgettable. Secondary characters often serve to provide insight into the main character(s) or to further a plot along, otherwise, why would an author bother to include them? In this case, their plot device status was blatant since every secondary character lacked any depth.
It’s not just the characters’ portrayal that I was disappointed with; I thought the plot and the ending were rushed and somewhat incomplete, too. The majority of the book’s events take place in the run-up to the ball that the title alludes to, with repeated reminders throughout about how important it is to the women living at the Salpêtrière and how intriguing it is to the elite, hand-picked guests. The ball itself doesn’t take place until the very end, at which point the entire scene is over as quickly as it began (I would like to include the actual page length, but since I read the ebook, I can’t 🥲). This really disappointed me since I would have liked to have spent more time with the women at the ball before the final events unfolded and seen the interactions between the in-patients and the members of the elite.
The combination of too many characters and a rushed plot meant that I, as the reader, couldn’t really appreciate the themes that Mas wanted to explore in the book.
I enjoyed that the book looked at the stigma surrounding mental health and the injustices and barriers women faced in the late 19th century, I just wish we got more (you’ll notice this might be a recurring desire in this review). For example, Eugènie is admitted to the Salpêtrière after she confesses to her grandmother that she is able to see and hear spirits. The events leading up to Eugènie’s confession involve her learning about and reading Le Livre des Esprits, but beyond that, there is very little explored or shared about Spiritism or the people who were involved in the movement.
Then there’s the history of psychiatry. Although undeniably dark and gruesome, this could have also been better explored in the book, especially since Mas references the very real people who were involved in this field of science at the time that the book takes place. We get very little insight into Dr Charcot’s work, and it frustrated me that Mas used him as one of the targets of her diatribe against the patriarchal society and all the ways in which women suffer as a result. Charcot and his associates are relegated to the underdeveloped villains of the story (and, with hindsight, all of the male characters, bar one, are either the villains or antiheroes…). A quick 5-minute research reveals just how important and lasting Charcot’s influence on modern-day psychology and neuroscience is. He wasn’t a faultless man, and I would encourage you to read about the debate regarding his influence on the development of anti-semitism too, but it’s a disservice to the man’s legacy as well as the reader to provide such an unnuanced and scaled-down account of his work.
Speaking of being unfair to the reader – and my biggest bug-bear about this book – Mas’ decision to spell everything out does not leave any room for tension to build or for the reader to interpret a character’s motives for themselves. Whenever a character thinks, does, or even considers doing something, Mas explicitly explains their thought processes and beliefs. Mas also takes it one step further by explaining to the reader why something is good or bad, or how things are connected or impacted by other events or decisions. For example, the reader quickly picks up that Louise didn’t feel comfortable being touched by her paramour, but the intrigue that was created was quickly destroyed in the following paragraph when Mas laid out exactly why Louise was uncomfortable including a lot of info-dumping on when, why, and how she ended up at the Salpêtrière, information that would have been better slowly revealed throughout the story.
I think the book as it is now is a strong basis for a more developed book. I genuinely do wonder, had Mas been encouraged to extend the book by a couple of hundred pages, would the characters and plot have been better developed? I also wonder if there would have been more subtle, nuanced showing throughout the book since Mas would have had the space and time to do so.
I think the book as it is now is a strong basis for a more developed book. I genuinely do wonder, had Mas been encouraged to extend the book by a couple of hundred pages, would the characters and plot have been better developed? I also wonder if there would have been more subtle, nuanced showing throughout the book since Mas would have had the space and time to do so.
There’s no point in speculating on the ‘what ifs’. I really wanted to like this book, but by the end, I was rushing through the last few chapters so I could move on to the next book. I’m not sure if I’ll read another of Mas’ books again, but I do think that she’s written a good book for film so I will still watch the movie adaptation (and perhaps watch any future adaptations of her books).
I’m going to end this review with a quote from the book that I found ironic at the time considering the book’s mixed textbook and fiction style of writing:
Therein lay the difference between fact and fiction: in the former, there was no possible emotional investment. One was simply presented with information. Fiction, on the other hand, aroused passions, provoked outbursts, overwhlemed the mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
grace_r3ads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood
leanneymu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A great piece of dark historical fiction about the ways in which men suppress, abuse and minimise women, using an insane asylum in 19th Century Paris as the setting, while also reflecting on themes of misogyn in modern culture. A content note for rape/sexual abuse, but it felt incredibly relevant to the story to include these issues. It honestly reminded me a little of Orange is the New Black, in terms of the incarceration of women, all of whom are victims of circumstance and/or the men around them.
In terms of the writing style, I found the jumping between past and present tense quite jarring in places, but it was obviously a stylistic choice, rather than sloppy writing.
Bonus drinking game: take a drink every time the author mentions the word 'chignon'. You'll be very drunk by the end of the book.
In terms of the writing style, I found the jumping between past and present tense quite jarring in places, but it was obviously a stylistic choice, rather than sloppy writing.
Bonus drinking game: take a drink every time the author mentions the word 'chignon'. You'll be very drunk by the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny
laurasometimesreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, and Sexual violence
lilpugbooklover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
keywords: drama, emotional, ghosts, asylum, mental health conditions, health conditions, sexual assault, abuse, trauma
in short: an extremely heart tugging, thrilling, grab your soul and wont let go, dark roller-coaster of a read.
complete review
Victoria Mas is a new author for me and I only really started the mad women ball because I wanted to check out her writing style, as I’m a mood reader I felt this week I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with a book I knew was going to be very emotional but once I started it grabbed me and wouldn't let go, so much so I finished this book in one whole day.
Victoria Mas paints us a picture of 19 century Paris so vividly that you can almost smell the baguettes, her characters are exceedingly life like and you’ll feel everything they go through as if it was yourself.
Although with this story theme being of a 19 century asylum as readers will know this is like to be a dark and emotive read but be warned there is active sexual assault, mentions of abuse of different types and active self harm told with various detail within these pages.
Despite this dark and raw storyline, this book is physically breath taking as we follow one main girl as her world is tipped upside down when she finds herself abandoned within the local asylum despite being very much sane, her diagnoses that put her there, she trusted someone with her secret, she could see and talk to the dead.
Victoria writes a beautiful, terrifying, raw and completely unforgettable story that I was sad to finish, I really wish there was another story following Eugenie after everything had happened to her. A book I don’t normally read but has since stole my heart and earn a space on my favorite bookcase.
in short: an extremely heart tugging, thrilling, grab your soul and wont let go, dark roller-coaster of a read.
complete review
Victoria Mas is a new author for me and I only really started the mad women ball because I wanted to check out her writing style, as I’m a mood reader I felt this week I probably wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with a book I knew was going to be very emotional but once I started it grabbed me and wouldn't let go, so much so I finished this book in one whole day.
Victoria Mas paints us a picture of 19 century Paris so vividly that you can almost smell the baguettes, her characters are exceedingly life like and you’ll feel everything they go through as if it was yourself.
Although with this story theme being of a 19 century asylum as readers will know this is like to be a dark and emotive read but be warned there is active sexual assault, mentions of abuse of different types and active self harm told with various detail within these pages.
Despite this dark and raw storyline, this book is physically breath taking as we follow one main girl as her world is tipped upside down when she finds herself abandoned within the local asylum despite being very much sane, her diagnoses that put her there, she trusted someone with her secret, she could see and talk to the dead.
Victoria writes a beautiful, terrifying, raw and completely unforgettable story that I was sad to finish, I really wish there was another story following Eugenie after everything had happened to her. A book I don’t normally read but has since stole my heart and earn a space on my favorite bookcase.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
keirahelena_'s review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, and Rape
Moderate: Grief
oabird's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence