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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4% of the (audio)book's runtime was dedicated to an arbitrary, pointless generational family saga of the flea that infected Judith with the plague. finishing the chapter, then the book, and it amounting to nothing was very insulting. i fully recommend skipping the chapter that begins "For the pestilence to reach Warwickshire…"
that out of the way, it was slow at times—part I alternates between past and present, and i felt that the past dragged on while being merely drip-fed the more interesting present—but it's a beautiful character study, heartbreaking and endearing.
that out of the way, it was slow at times—part I alternates between past and present, and i felt that the past dragged on while being merely drip-fed the more interesting present—but it's a beautiful character study, heartbreaking and endearing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexism, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
sarah984's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I liked the idea behind this book, of centring the family around a famous man when those people are generally forgotten, but I did not like the actual experience of reading it.
The writing is repetitious and florid (I get that it's for emphasis but some paragraphs just felt like lists of synonyms) and the characterization of Anne (Agnes) as this kind of stereotypical "witchy" wise woman was annoying. Her supernatural ability to randomly know things seemed like a literary device to tell information the author didn't know how to show. The vaguely supernatural cause of Hamnet’s death was also stupid. If this wasn't billed as straight historical fiction this probably wouldn't bug me so much, but it is and it does.
The writing is repetitious and florid (I get that it's for emphasis but some paragraphs just felt like lists of synonyms) and the characterization of Anne (Agnes) as this kind of stereotypical "witchy" wise woman was annoying. Her supernatural ability to randomly know things seemed like a literary device to tell information the author didn't know how to show. The vaguely supernatural cause of Hamnet’s death was also stupid. If this wasn't billed as straight historical fiction this probably wouldn't bug me so much, but it is and it does.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Infidelity, and Racial slurs
rotatinglibrary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Racial slurs
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