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especiallysarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
polkapunkband's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Minor: Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Car accident, Rape, and Sexual assault
itsbumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Mass/school shootings
j_squaredd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Slavery, and Sexual assault
junglejelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The writing is beautiful and captivating but also haunting and sad.
I loved the mixture of writing styles from free verse to transcripts to poems. It really fitted with the character Wolfie and what he goes through.
A book I would 100% recommend to others. I just wish it was a bit longer, despite a satisfying ending, but I'll just have to read more of Godden's work instead.
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Physical abuse
brenreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
cjmrand's review against another edition
5.0
It's quite impressive to me that the poems struck a chord when I would never usually enjoy poetry, I think that shows just how impactful the content and the writing style was for me. I loved how Godden captured so many small things so accurately and described them so perfectly in a way that made the story feel so close to life in a good way: how England is written actually, for once, feels like the England I know - I wrote this in my notes while reading: "I really feel like Godden has just perfectly captured the modern day in England, all the tiny details are just. So. Good. Like yeah, of course there's the 'sweet smell of vapes' in the air - of course there fucking is". Plus, the references to Tory apathy and Grenfell and so much else without ever explicitly stating those things was so good.
Godden manages to bottle the real world and put in this book, especially with the main themes of the consistent undervaluing and disregarding of women and ethnic minorities in society, more so with women who are ethnic minorities, and even more so with black women. My notes from page 163:"'it is exhausting how much space men want and how much credit and control man wants to take for mankind' And here I am immediately assuming that the Doctor is male. The bias is so deeply ingrained in me, in all of us."
I want to buy this book and write in the margins and put names of the people I love in the back, and I NEVER want to write in my books. That's significant to me.
The only complaint I have about this book is the occasional overuse of profanity (I feel so old even typing out the word 'profanity', ugh) - what I mean by this is the repetition of one word to an excessive point one one page or so. The repetitive use of "cunt" and talking about fucking and stuff reminded me a bit of those modern art pieces that are meant solely to shock the audience. These parts made me feel a bit iffy, but while they did make me squirm in the moment, it's honestly easy to breeze past them with how good the rest of the book is.
This book is so damn good in every other way though - content, pace, format, every word - and I couldn't stop reading, I was always excited for more. Books about death are my thing right now, I think they provide comfort on such a taboo topic, and this one covers so much more. If you're in the right mental space for it, I would heavily recommend.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
nreyno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
leanneymu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
graceesford's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Child death, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Slavery, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape