Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

6 reviews

mandibibbs37's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Death, Rape, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, War, Suicide, Murder, and Genocide

courtneyreadsometimes's review

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

• 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Gore, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Rape, Misogyny, and Gun violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Child death, and Death of parent

laurenleigh's review

dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I didn’t get what I expected here, but I still got a good story. I suppose I thought there’d be more magical realism or fantasy, but this novel is squarely historical fiction with one dash of magical realism. It was an interesting plot device which allows for the same scene in multiple ways, the same life with various consequences. If you liked that part of The Midnight Library, you’d like this too I bet. Fair warning that many parts of this plot are quite sad and depressing. I was enjoying the bucolic childhood tales in the English country manor, but things take a sharp left turn as Ursula grows up. I do enjoy historical fiction, and this felt very well researched. I think I’m just a little tired of WWII historical fiction. Though it does make me grateful to live in a time and a country that is not at war, not being bombed every night.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Death, and Death of parent

lbuck303's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.0

This could have been a good book if 100 pages were cut. It's just too long and drags on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Rape, War, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Death

loosea23's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide

jowmy4's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Excrement, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Vomit

Parts of this book are set during the Spanish flu, the London Blitz, the Bombing of Berlin and the German Third Reich, and feature the expected horrors of each setting. However, I think part of the point of the book is to say that tragedies, horrors and other malign things happen all the time, even outside of these big events and even in seemingly-idyllic and safe locations.