Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

40 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed this book as its themes were very dark and at times depressing, but I did love it. It's a slow burn about Jeanie and Julius 51 year old twins, who live their  mother, Dot, in an isolated cottage. Their mother dies suddenly at the start of the book. Jeannie is hardly able to read or write, and Julius finds it hard to keep down a job. Their lives unravelling due to the secrets their mother held. I can't say too much more regarding the plot so as not to give spoilers, but it is an emotional, reflective read, I felt for Jeannie and the situations she found herself in. If you are wanting an uplifting read, this is not one for you. But I found it brilliant, multi layered, sensitive, and a super read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Infidelity

uss_mary_shelley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Gun violence

zotty's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

abi_dutton's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

bethancy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Alcohol

Minor: Medical trauma, Murder, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

feecee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Grief

SPOILER First chapter has moderate descriptions of a stroke from the sufferer’s perspective SPOILER

seawarrior's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

Unsettled Ground is a beautifully written book about two middle-aged siblings coming to terms with the fragile falsehoods their stagnant life has been dependent on. Additionally, it's a story about a subborn and immature woman taking responsibility for her life and wrangling the means to survive despite immense unfairness and lack of knowledge. I appreciated that while each of the characters does terrible things to one another throughout the course of the novel, Fuller writes them with enough depth to comprehend the choices they've made, even though it may feel wrong to forgive them. From the outside this story may not seem very engaging, but I devoured it and was glued to every page. Fuller has earned her place as one of my favorite writers and I would definitely reccomend this book to other realistic fiction readers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

simoneg's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore and Gun violence

gabbyyy_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Infidelity

wandawinterland's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content