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attolis's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape
thewritebooks'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? Yes
Immediately after finishing this, having cried through the last 15 pages, all I could think about was the beautiful way that all of the themes came together at the end to tell a story of life and loss. We travelled through the role of medieval women in the church, female solidarity and sisterhood, sapphic love and desire, the cycles of the seasons and the catholic calendar, power and greed and the sin of creation, followed by the moral weighting of these sins against these women's souls.
The prose was never dramatic, and by avoiding direct speech throughout, the author adds to the feeling of being another witness to the years marching onwards at the Abbey. The messages in this book were very close to my heart and I would be interested in going back with tabs to track and analyse those themes a bit more, having the hindsight now to see how well they were laid out.
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Rape, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Classism, Excrement, Death of parent, and Dementia
eliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took me 15h 21m technically, with the Libby app open whether or not I was actually reading.
I’ve never read a historical fiction book for me, and the beginning was a little slow. Once it picked up, the pace ebbed and flowed, and, I began to appreciate how beautifully it is written. So many passages that I want to keep and remember forever, the word choice and the poetic cadence of Lauren’s Groff’s writing is best described by a friend of mine as “delicious.” absolutely.
I love women and I’m so glad I read this book even though this book is way smarter than I will ever be. Gonna go finish weeping now.
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Cancer, Animal death, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Animal cruelty, and Forced institutionalization
leneliest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
adymae11'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Child death, and Physical abuse
Minor: Mental illness, Grief, Dementia, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Cancer, and Animal death
edamamebean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Violence, Dementia, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Vomit, Bullying, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and War
deebee223'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
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Rape, Dementia, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
bronzeageholly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Grief, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Cancer
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexism
Moderate: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Excrement, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death of parent, Violence, War, Torture, and Toxic friendship
babblingbooks'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death
Minor: Rape, Homophobia, Abandonment, Ableism, and Death of parent
The main character is queer, she never gives herself a label, but only sleeps with women throughout the book. There is implied homophobia from society in general, but not much actually included in the text specifically.