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louise_maw'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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Infidelity, Murder, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion
microbemom's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Cursing, Mental illness, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence
sauvageloup's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pros:
- Rowling is an exceptional writer; the complicated but satisfying plot, the mixture of straightforward tone interspersed with moments of lyrical descriptions and reflection, the characterisation and development, the slowly eked out relationship development, the depth of every single side character, how each character's dialogue is made distinct and accents rendered realistically, the research that's clearly gone into it... just so much to admire in the actual writing and her skill.
- I like Robin and Strike and many of the other side characters. They feel real and Rowling puts across their emotions very well. There's a very real feeling of being as harried and pressured as Strike clearly is with everything piling up and then the release at the end.
- the plot was complex but wrapped up very neatly at the end. It was complicated by various characters' mixed motives but it didn't feel forced.
Cons:
- My only complaint about the writing was that it was *massively* confusing at the beginning. SO. MANY. NAMES. Got super confused. Also later on completely forgot who
- Rowling's views... Rowling as a person... that was just in my head the whole time I was reading.
- her views then come through in this book, more than the others I think. This is the first book to come out post Rowling revealing herself as a massive transphobe and I think there's a lot of elements of that that come through in this.
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Anyway, the book was written excellently, but Rowling is a piece of shit. Unfortunately, I am also very jealous of her writing abilities and wish they'd been given to someone more worthy.
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
kdmusings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was very personal to me. However, upon reflection it is important to remember Rowling’s homophobic views and how this has been directly relayed through in her writing.
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
sylvia_reads's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
Also I read the Dutch translation (which was 1000+pages) and there were multiple errors that kinda annoyed me.
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit
andyincolour's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
samanthaxe's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was also wondering whether Rowling would use this opportunity to make a statement about trans people, and she does.
So, trigger warnings for what you'd expect in a gritty thriller, with an emphasis on almost unrelenting violence against women, and I'd also add a trigger warning for Rowling's seemingly benign use of things like cross-dressing to make an insidious and harmful point about gender identity.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders