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annablanna'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Racial slurs, Body shaming, War, and Racism
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexism, Child death, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
ericaw212's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Racism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
zreadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
majesticbirdy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
_rowan_'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Slavery, Drug use, Death, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Grief
mia_a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
1. Story about an older college professor who first had her world turn upside down when her son throws away all of the values she tried to bestow upon him. She sees this as an ultimate betrayal and is cutting off every sort of communication with him. Unfortunately, her husband, who she finds pessimistic and a downer, disagrees with her and tries to have a rational conversations, that she perceives as another attack. She then goes on to overanalyze everything - her connections, aging, job, legacy, parenting.
2. Story is Miriel's very neurotic stream of consciousness where she blames everyone and rationalizes all the bad things that happened to her. She is completely dependant on men in her life and has no real freedom. She thinks about how her mother is very abusive, her ex husband was not her support and even her current (soon to be ex) husband left her saying she would drain life out of her. Also, she thinks about her teenage daughter who committed suicide, and how they also had conflicted relationship upto a point where a lot of people blame her as a mother.
3. Story is about a housewife who stopped her medical studies to get married after unexpected pregnancy. Now, at the age of 44 she finds out that her husband is cheating on her, and it changes every aspect of her life. She questions everyone around her about the mistress, what she did wrong and what is she supposed to do now. Her husband, through a lot of gaslighting and manipulation, tries to sit on two chairs.
All of these stories have some universal experiances that can creep up to all of us at any moment. That's what makes this book so relevant today, and also very scary. Keep your eyes open.
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Classism
nabila99'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this book is absolutely heart-wrenching, so much so that i had to start reading another book in the middle of it, even though i was really enjoying it, because it is so heavy....i've read novels with much darker and sadder subject material, but the way de Beauvoir writes about pain, loss of identity, desperation, resentment, hope, and despair is so visceral i cried multiple times, especially in the last eponymous short story. she captures women's suffering like no other.
i only took off a half star because the writing style in the second short story, the monologue, is so difficult to follow (even though it's genius and i admire the technique and contrast in narrative voices), and some of the side characters could have been more fleshed out.
cannot wait to read more of de Beauvoir's work!
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Drug abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Alcohol, Misogyny, Death, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Abandonment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Blood, Abortion, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, and Sexual content
bipodial'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
However, I have to point out that I skipped the second story because I found the monologue unreadable after a while. The tangents were too much for me and I wasn't enjoying it. Also, while like I said, I enjoyed the main character's struggle with her self-image, in the third story,
All in all, a nice short read that I'd suggest you give a try, if you want to read more about the struggles of married middle aged women through an existential lens.
Moderate: Suicide