Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Una donna spezzata by Simone de Beauvoir, Bruno Fonzi

8 reviews

annaavian's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

1.0

 This book is severely overrated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Racism, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Cursing

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

I couldn't connect with the first story, "The Age of Discretion." It was the soporific ramblings of a boy mom, and the last novella was annoying. The standout for me was definitely "The Monologue." Pure, unadulterated female rage, and maybe it's concerning, but I found myself relating a lot to the MC, Murielle, at least with the misanthropic and nihilistic thoughts, her acidic homophobic and racist diatribes notwithstanding. The writing was chef's kiss, run-on sentences and all. The psychotic stream of consciousness was both chaotic and tragic to follow, but reading Murielle's delusions of grandeur and excessive narcissism wasn't as dreadful as when men do it. I think this manifesto against the world is the one I'll keep coming back to, and maybe I'll even make it a tradition to read it on every new year's day starting next year lol

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Content Warnings

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

majesticbirdy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

4.5

ahh the horrors. do not read if you do not want your heart rate to spike.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

rooney_shay's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This edition included two other short stories as well as “The Woman Destroyed” (TWD, for short). I enjoyed TWD much more than the other two stories, but they all focused around woman dealing with loss in their lives. 

TWD dealt with the main character slowly losing her husband to another woman, but with him goes her sense of self.

 
It was deeply saddening and really hurt my heart. I began to empathize with the main character and only wanted to see her happy. 
<small spoiler>The only reason I’m not giving this a 5/5 is because of the ambiguous ending. I’m not a huge a fan of unresolved conflict, so just a small warning to those of you like me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Classism, and Drug use

kavarnistka's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Minor: Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

nabila99's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

my first experience with de Beauvoir was reading the second sex for gender theory class at university. if only i knew she was so talented a fiction writer as well!

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!

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Content Warnings

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

amberries_'s review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

chantal18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse