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picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Rape, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Dementia, Alcoholism, Grief, Classism, Blood, Child death, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
mattiedancer's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
- Those looking for an introduction to historical fiction
- Those wanting to learn more about Salpêtrière
- Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, toxic friendships,
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual content, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Rape, Violence, and Vomit
yum1_2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Incest, Misogyny, and Self harm
Moderate: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
stitchbooks22's review against another edition
- 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 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.
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
grace_r3ads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
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
loxeletters's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I also liked the magical realism/supernatural aspects, though they were much less prevalent in the second half of the book.
This book actually challenged me on some of my core beliefs as a writer - the author does a lot of "head-hopping", which is usually frowned upon in modern fiction, though it used to be quite common in classic literature. It forced me to confront whether I actually don't like this technique or whether that was just ingrained in me from countless online repetition. My final conclusion is that I don't know. It did feel quite jarring a lot of the time and often broke the immersion. But maybe that was intentional?
In any case, I think that the translation was a bit subpar, featuring dangling modifiers and comma splices a lot. Again, maybe that's just the author's style, but I'd be willing to bet it's the translation.
Overall I have mixed feelings on this book. It was easy to read and engaging, plus I learnt a lot, but the prose just felt disconnected at times in a way that I can't really explain. Still, a very solid book.
Graphic: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Drug abuse
lauramparis's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual violence
whatvictoriaread's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Self harm
nika_97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Ableism, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
This story is told in a very matter-of-fact way. There's nothing that's hidden or mysterious about the characters or the setting. Everything is laid out for the reader, and I think it causes the book to lose some heart.
This is a slow, character driven story that is quite light on actual plot. It takes place over the span of two and a half weeks, but it feels so much longer than that due to the pacing. Unfortunately, this story suffers from extremely convenient scenarios to push the plot forward, which makes everything very predictable.
As the title is The Mad Women's Ball, I expected a lot more of the story to take place during the ball, or to have it be way more relevant than it actually was. In the end it just felt like another plot device with no life to it.
This book is depressing; there's no way around that. I mainly felt stressed while reading this. I'm not happy with the conclusion, and it left me feeling a little lost ? There is an epilogue, but I honestly could have used one more chapter of the main story to prevent it from feeling so abrupt. This is not a long book, so the ending does feel rushed compared to how the rest of the story unfolded.
Basically I have quite mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it introduced me to a history of Paris I did not previously know, but on the other I think the book itself could have been fleshed out so much more. In the end I think that leaves me with an average book where the history behind it is more intriguing than the fiction.
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Self harm
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis