Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Fury

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

kimberleyw12's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The book you think you're going to get going in is absolutely not the book delivered, but it's a wild ride. Nothing you can't see coming, but if you love dark themes with terrible people who are wildly unpredictable narrators, then this might be the book for you.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.75

Title: The Fury
Author: Alex Michaelides
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: January 16, 2024

T H R E E • W O R D S

Atmospheric • Clever • Dynamic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The Fury is my second book from author Alex Michaelides (skipped The Maidens due to Greek Mythology focus) and I knew to expect something clever and different than your run-of-the-mill thriller. And that is exactly what this is.

The story itself is fairly forgettable, with typical tropes and elements often used in other locked room mysteries. But what makes this book stand out are the narrator, Elliot Chase, and the brilliant structure. Told in the form of a play, with quick, short chapters, it was like sitting down and being told a juicy story as Elliot was speaking directly to the reader. On the surface it's a story of deception and revenge, but when digging a little deeper it's a love story.

Reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, Alex Michaelides has skillfully delivered one of the most unreliable narrators I have yet to come across in my reading life. The story isn't the strength of this book rather its the telling. I still prefer The Silent Patient, yet the author definitely has a gift in writing clever books. I am intrigued to see what he will do next.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• unreliable narrators
• murder mysteries

⚠️ CW: murder, gun violence, death, alcohol, drug use, infidelity, bullying, toxic friendship, toxic relationship, blood, stalking, gaslighting, mental illness, alcoholism, child abuse, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts, cursing

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"In case I am speaking to a young person now, let me give you something to hold on to: do not despair at being different. For that very difference, initially such a source of shame, so humiliating, and painful, will one day become a badge of honor and pride."

"We are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives."

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved everything about this. Light-hearted until it wasn’t. Lines imprinted on my mind.

Energy: Vigilant. Sanguine. Ruthless.
Scene: 🇬🇷 🇬🇧 Private island near Mykonos, Greece; pubs and homes in London, UK.
Perspective: Our narrator is telling us the about their friend group and what occurred on their most recent visit to their friend’s island getaway weekend.

🐩 Tail Wags: The layering of light over-the-top drama with moments of depth and check-ins with the reader. The scheming, fake-outs, drama, back-tracking plot. Our morally grey narrator who I alternately felt horrified by and heart-broken for. The peripheral character arcs and development.

----
🧐 Random Thoughts:

If you are struggling to get immersed in the story and not feeling the feels, it could be hard to stay engaged.
If you never feel empathy, sympathy (or even pity) for the narrator and dislike spending time with unlikeable characters this may be a struggle.
Hard to read with long or frequent breaks. The way the story is presented works better when you remember which Act you’re in and are fresh off the previous one.
If you’re an overanalyzer like me, hold off on that ‘til the end!

🎬 Tale-Telling: Direct, lyrical writing style. The story starts in the middle of the action.
👥 Characters: Complex. Manipulative but empathetic though I could be persuaded otherwise.
🤓 Reader Role: Meeting for a drink with the narrator who has a story to tell and being their anchor.
🗺️ World-Building: Atmospheric weather, sensory and visual details; cultural and emotional landscapes; body language and reactions.
🔥 Fuel: Who is our narrator? Who died? How? Why? Who did it? What will happen to everyone on the island?
📖 Cred: Emotionally hyper-realistic, situationally plausible with a touch of exaggeration for effect.
🚙 Journey: Quick drink with a potential friend turns into hours of sipping the tea with moments of reflection and soul searching.
----

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Spring. Wind. Waves. Sea birds. Clinking plates. Laughter. Whispers. Applause.
Friendship-relationship drama murder mystery in an isolated setting where all is not as it seems
Machiavellianism with Heart

Content Heads-Up: Gun use and violence. Bullying (recall; descriptive). Infidelity (brief; not sexually descriptive; on and off page). Alcohol use (partying, intoxicated; on page). Alcoholism (brief, recall; off page). Child abuse and parental neglect (brief recall; descriptive). Homelessness, financial insecurity (brief recall; descriptive). Sexual exploitation (implied; off page). Animal death (

pigeon hunting and meal prep

).

Rep: Cisgender. Heterosexual. White British and American. Greek characters and experiences.

📚 Format: Paperback

🤩 Potential Fav of 2024

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined with my AI bookworm buddy ✨

Content Warnings

emmabunny's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

miggyfool's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

ajdurner's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A little Agatha Christie, a little Tom Riley, and a dramatic whodunnit. With a touch of White Lotus.

This ties in nicely with Alex Michaelides other books.

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kelsylee's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense 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

2.25

I would dnf but I was reading this for a reading challenge.

This book kept me up all night, not because it was good, but because I couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid it was.

The narrator was awful, it took me so much longer to finish this than it should have because I just didn’t want to read the parts where he was talking. I had the ending figured out a few chapters in and the big reveal just wasn’t rewarding.

The entire book could be summed up in one sentence:

NiceGuy(tm) can’t take no for an answer

Content Warnings