Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Devil in the White City (Abridged): Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

24 reviews

thepeachmartini's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

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

3.25

This was hard for me to get into in the first 1/3 of the book, which is basically the background of the architects and the lead up to starting the building for the fair. There are three stories tangled together. The chapters bounce between the two main stories - the fair itself, and the story of H H Holmes, and the story of Prendergast just feels...out of place. It's tacked onto the end of some of the other chapters; the whole tale could take one chapter if filled with the writers flowery language and over-descriptive explanations. It feels like it was an afterthought... "Hey! it's kinda kooky...let's just squeeze it in here." 

I skimmed a LOT of pages about the architects, their gout, bad teeth, and overall poor health. Once we get to actually building the fair and such, it starts to pick up a bit. Once the fair is in full swing, things are interesting - the exhibits, the events, etc. And of course Holmes' story is interesting and could have easily been a separate book (which may have been a better idea than trying to meld the two). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Confinement and Abortion

camilleion's review against another edition

informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

90% architectural history, 10% true crime.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Infidelity, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Abandonment, and Mental illness

suzquinn97's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Medical content, Child death, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion

headachesince03's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Alcohol, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Murder

reddeddy's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Death, Drug use, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Terminal illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Classism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

The literary descriptions and firsthand accounts of the fair, and the effort and love put into it's design and creation made me wish I could have attended. The detailed descriptions of Holmes' murders and his disarmingly charming personality made me glad that I was born over a full century after 1893. I like greatly enjoyed The Devil in the White City, the second half was a far easier read than the first. I'm not sure if I've retained as much of the information about the fair's designers and the events that took place while it was open as I wanted to. While interesting, the section about the initial design process and the political lobbying that took place in order to get the fair to occur in Chicago read similarly to a textbook, in stark contrast with the narrative way the rest of the history was told. Overall, an informative and interesting read. I would use enjoyable to describe the writing, but not the content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gore, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Xenophobia

ascalun's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Abortion, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

emmacjmeyer's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Violence

aargot1's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Torture, Murder, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

bdingz's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Confinement, and Murder