Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

27 reviews

ameliaj_adams's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

2.0

This was a really beautifully written book which tackled some really dark themes. This isn’t normally the kind of book that I’d go for (hence the lower rating) and I initially struggled to get into it, however I can definitely see the appeal for others. I struggled to connect and relate to the characters (though this may be because I’m not the target audience) however the setting was very vividly imagined and described beautifully, and the book had an interesting structure that kept me reading, as the narrator continues to switch back and forth between her childhood and life leading up to the present, and the present day itself. The ending was a little underwhelming, but all in all it was an okay read, and one that I can understand why it is so popular.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Death, Infertility, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Suicide

amcghig's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide

marie_is_reading's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Alcohol

queen204's review

reflective

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Infidelity, Infertility, Cancer, and Child abuse

skibbonboulash's review

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

Let’s make the main characters childhood as traumatizing as possible then have a climax that is meaningless because you’re numb to trauma by then and then finish off with an underwhelming resolution and conclusion. You can tell the author writes for HBO (not a compliment)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Infertility, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Cancer, Bullying, Body shaming, Rape, Child abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, Murder, Classism, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Suicide

paulabekkerus's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

kdenten's review

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Sexual content, Blood, Cancer, and Child death

juli_powers's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

Minor: Eating disorder, Infertility, and Cancer

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is beautiful and terrible, with an atmosphere that you soak into. An incredibly immersive and intense family drama, this is a great choice if you’re looking for a heavier read that transports you directly to summer months at a lakeside cabin.

I would describe this book as grim and troubling, which normally wouldn’t be the type of book I would go for, but I am so glad I picked this one up and buddy read it with @flower_bubbles because I just couldn’t put it down! I listened to 3/4 of this one on audio and I would definitely recommend this format. The narrator is phenomenal, but also I really felt Elle was directly telling me her own story, which made me feel very invested in her life and spellbound by this whole book.

I can definitely see why this book made the Women’s Prize for Fiction long list and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, truly gorgeous writing that I would expect for literary fiction. But be forewarned, there are a lot of difficult topics covered and graphic scenes depicted in this one, and I would recommend researching the content before diving in. 

I’d recommend this book to readers who tend toward:

• storylines with multiple flashes through time 
• dark books that deal with trauma and vulnerability but contrasted with tender moments of togetherness
• imperfect and complicated main characters 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Incest, and Infidelity

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Grief, and Infertility

camillebergeron's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Grief, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Medical trauma, Stalking, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Fatphobia and Medical content