Reviews

The Loyalties by Delphine de Vigan

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litwithleigh's review

5.0

5 stars for Book outlet read #5!!

Writing: 5/5 | Plot: 5/5 | Ending: wish there was more/5

THE PLOT

Sad shit happening to people. Cecile questions her loyalty to her husband and her role as a housewife, Mathias questions his loyalty to his friend, Theo questions his loyalty to his parents, particularly his father's secrets, Helene questions her loyalty to her profession and her inner child.

MY OPINION

This was the easiest 5 stars I've ever given to a book (technically this is a novella). Beautiful, poignant writing—a perfect demonstration of why less is more and how to show not tell. Philosophical. Emotional. Introspective. Interesting characters. All the things I love in a literary novel(lla).

If you feel like your life has been going too smoothly and you want to be emotionally wrecked, pick up this book.

One of my faves of this year, if not all time. Just perfection from start to finish. This might be my shortest review ever because I'm simply at a loss for words.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: everything

Cons: nothing

Book outlet reads
#1 - The Reunion
#2 - One Step Behind
#3 - The Scholar
#4 - Possession

karlyo83's review against another edition

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5.0

My Rating Style: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ticked all the boxes LOVED IT!!!

First of all thank you to my good friend and fellow Goodreader GirlWithThePinkSkiMask for putting me onto this one. I picked it up for $3 (AUD) at a shopping centre bookstore, what a bargain!!

I am not going to do a recap of the synopsis because this is a really short novella and the synopsis the author has done really captures the essence of the story.

What a tragic tale of loyalties, lies, secrets and destruction!! The story is beautifully written and expresses so much emotion in the short chapters. This is a translation from French to English but I don’t feel like anything is lost in translation at all. As I read this I felt there was a sense of doom and destruction building waiting to come to a head.

I was in a constant state of worry for Theo. Oh Theo I wanted to wrap him in a blanket and mother him the way a parent should. He has the world on his shoulders and is looking for a cheap quick escape from reality.

Helene crosses boundaries in her job as a teacher trying to help Theo and get to the bottom of what is going on and she loses herself in the mission.

Cecile discovers something vile and grisly about her husband and she begins a descent that perhaps there is no coming back from.

Mathias, just wants to be around Theo and protect him from himself but is torn between doing what is the right thing and doing what is the ‘cool’ thing.

Everyone is trying to be loyal to themselves and to others and all the while they are slowly losing pieces of who they are or hoped to become. The adults fail to protect the children and children desperately try to protect the adults. This is a poignant, beautifully written story that will leave you emotionally ruined and a little heartbroken.

kittykotzmiauw's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

ta_ma_ra_gj's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

carolyn0613's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this book although it reminded me of french films which have several different storylines that are tenuously linked but are in fact just separate stories. It was an interesting read.