Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Burnt Sugar

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

gabriellejane's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I connected to this book as the daughter of a parent who dealt with a manipulative parent until their death. I think it helped me understand a little more what they might have gone through. About the book itself, I love an unreliable narrator and how frustrating the reading experience can be! Not an all-time favorite, but a solid read that I will think about for some time. As with most unreliable stories, I wished the ending had been formed more than where it ended. I don't think the story needed to continue, but just a little more closure would have been great!

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waybeyondblue's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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creepypiespice's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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olivefoil's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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kelreadsbooks's review

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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

4.5

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book_perk's review

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dark reflective 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? Yes

2.5

What did I just read? I am confused, and disgusted with the inter-familial relationships and longing. There were a few interesting lines and I did enjoy aspects of how the narrator's mental health and mother's disease played off each other. Overall though, the book just fell really flat for me.

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sarahna's review

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

3 stars.

I see why this was long-listed for the women's prize of fiction. It's a deeply unsettling story that's written in a shockingly direct way and towards the end it even felt like a horror novel. Was Tara suffering from dementia or did she do so to torment and control her daughter Antara even more? The ending felt somewhat unsatisfying by not revealing an answer and the mention of some bodily fluid on every other page was unsettling.
Still, this story can be analyzed and discussed pretty easily since everyone's a morally grey character and while I did feel with Antara for most of the story even she was unlikable at times. Mixed feelings but overall a read that makes you reflect.

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