Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Violets

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

evaverm's review

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emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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emma_therabbithole's review

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emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.25

I’m very conflicted about this book. It took me at least until halfway through to settle into it, and I found the mixture of verse and prose initially quite jarring. That said, once I got into it and figured out what was going on, I really enjoyed the latter half and felt if I re read the first half would be a completely different experience.
The writing is beautiful, it’s lyrical and pulls you up, forcing you to read a paragraph again to take in the beauty. But this sometimes feels a priority over the characterisation. Despite the emotional subjects covered; war, motherhood gained and lost - I never felt close to the characters, I felt constantly kept at a distance.
It’s without doubt an interesting read, and there is lots to unpick and discuss in terms of literary choices and devices - and as this is a book club read I’m really looking forward to hearing what others in the group felt about it.

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heidirgreen's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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serendipitysbooks's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Violets is a beautifully written meditation of motherhood, love and loss. It successfully mixes unadorned prose with lyrical poetic sections to great effect. Set towards the end of World War II this is the story of two women, both called Violet. One is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy; the other facing the reality of a miscarriage and hysterectomy. We follow their stories in (mostly) alternating chapters. Interspersed are sections of free verse to and about Pram Boy. This was a quiet book but one that I very much enjoyed. It’s honest, upfront depiction of the realities of women’s bodies was refreshing. Learning that it is based on a true story from the author’s family added to the poignancy.

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