Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

11 reviews

danaaliyalevinson's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

Set over the course of a few days in Ireland, a man is forced to confront his own demons when he unwittingly stumbles upon one of Ireland's infamous Magdalene Laundries a few days before Christmas. 

This was a quick little read, just barely over novella length. 

The prose was lofty and beautiful. The characters were packed a big emotional punch. To my only criticism ory the book is that I wished it were *slightly* longer. By the time I felt like it really got going, it was almost done. In an odd way it reminded me of Emily St John Mandel’s “Sea of Tranquility” despite being very different in terms of genre. Something about how lyrical and yet short and sweet it was.

There's also a movie adaptation with Cillian Murphy that just premiered at Berlinale, which looks great. This book is great for anyone looking for a quick yet still deeply emotional read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

Like interesting but kinda disappointing cause i wasnt rly a fan of the writing tbh, girl rly said ‘he let out a breath he didnt know he was holding’ 😐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Gaslighting

dapperoreo's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Vomit, Trafficking, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Self harm, Cursing, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

While “Foster” made me cry, this one made me seethe with rage, and it is an empathetic novella about mustering the courage to fight against injustices that are buried under the surface, even when you only have your bare hands to dig them up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Torture, Bullying, and Abandonment

Minor: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Terminal illness

Be aware that this novel addresses the Magdalen laundry, where religious institutions would abuse and isolate young “troubled” women. It is rough to read, and there is more details between the lines. Poverty and abuse of power had a huge hand in this discussion.

notthatcosta's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I had a lot of anticipation before reading this, and overall I found it very well written and well paced, albeit a lot more subtle than I was expecting. This is my first time reading Claire Keegan's work but I've since seen some reviews remarking that her other stuff is a lot darker than this, which intrigues me. 

The dialogue was particularly strong from the supporting townspeople, the opaqueness of which complemented the earnestness and pathos of the protagonist. I really got a good sense of his temperament, motivations and backstory, which is an achievement in a novella. 

I appreciated the economy of the writing and how it created an air of tension and mystery whilst providing enough exposition to keep you in the story. It made me hungry for more, which is the mark of a good writer, especially of shorter books. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Vomit, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

emmagreenwood's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Misogyny, and Slavery

bethnash's review against another edition

challenging inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Gaslighting

Minor: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Animal death, Child abuse, and Torture

georgiarybanks's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement and Gaslighting

amselot's review

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

lou_o_donnell's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Excrement, Cancer, and Grief