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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
sunny_reader_girl's review against another edition
3.0
This is more like a 2.5 star book for me, but due to the translation I'm giving it 3. Something has to be lost in translation, so I like to consider that. For a mystery/crime novel, it was satisfactory. It had me guessing and, gladly, the ending had me completely surprised. I give the author kudos; it was a very clever and surprising solution. I also enjoyed all that I learned and now want to learn about Monet and impressionism. (The crime takes place in Giverny, France, where Claude Monet lived and painted for 30 years.)
Much of the dialogue was unbelievable for me (but again, with the translation something may have been lost). One of my strongest pet peeves is when authors can't seem to get children's dialogue right. They either make children sounds too precocious (like, overly and unbelievably) or they dumb the dialogue down. In this book, it was the first case. I'd recommend this, if only for the shock value of the ending and the beautiful descriptions of Monet's village.
Much of the dialogue was unbelievable for me (but again, with the translation something may have been lost). One of my strongest pet peeves is when authors can't seem to get children's dialogue right. They either make children sounds too precocious (like, overly and unbelievably) or they dumb the dialogue down. In this book, it was the first case. I'd recommend this, if only for the shock value of the ending and the beautiful descriptions of Monet's village.
skurtyka89's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! There were some moments throughout the book that were slow, but then big plot points would occur to bring up the pace. And the ending was mind-blowing! Mystery, intrigue, love, murder, art, Monet. It was incredibly annoying that the author continually used each character’s first And last name about 95% of every time he referred to them (we know who they are!!!). Other than that, the art references, Monet history and Giverny scenery were dreamy. The mystery was captivating. The characters were dynamic. And again, the ending was wild!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility and Infidelity
Minor: Cancer, Police brutality, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
3rdgenlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Just wow.
I listened to the audiobook for this one. Never saw that coming. Should be a movie.
I listened to the audiobook for this one. Never saw that coming. Should be a movie.
isabellas96's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
wdberens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
I’m finding writing this review without spoilers to be very difficult. I will try to keep them as vague as I can.
The plot of Black Water Lilies is a murder that occurs in the town of Givenry. While the victim is a man, the focus of the story is on three women – crone, mother, and maiden. The crone is the “witch” of the village, the mother is a teacher (the stereotype of a sexy teacher is used) , and the maiden is a young girl of almost elven who aspires to be an art student.
To be honest, it is at this point that I almost put down the book. That young girl of almost eleven is described as a woman. The graphic novel starts with the phrase “Three woman lived in Givenry”. The almost eleven year old is at various point in the opening panels drawn as an adult, in adult stylized, slightly sexualized poses. We are told that all boys wanted her to be their girlfriend.
Look, I get France is different and we Americans are supposedly prudish, but there are French women pushing back on the sexualization of young girls -read Consent by Vanessa Springora. And to be fair, the revel of graphic novel – which is clever but doesn’t quite work – makes the comment a little less icky. It also excuses some of the very sexist comments and behavior by the detectives which is very off putting.
Spoiler below
The use of the young girl is also execrated because there is little interaction between any women at all in the book - wouldn’t there be female friends? There is a woman associated with the police but she disappears shortly afterwards and is only there for the men to talk about each other.
But the reveal was clever, and the mystery is interesting. The artwork is wonderful. This graphic novel is based on a best selling French novel.
I’m finding writing this review without spoilers to be very difficult. I will try to keep them as vague as I can.
The plot of Black Water Lilies is a murder that occurs in the town of Givenry. While the victim is a man, the focus of the story is on three women – crone, mother, and maiden. The crone is the “witch” of the village, the mother is a teacher (the stereotype of a sexy teacher is used) , and the maiden is a young girl of almost elven who aspires to be an art student.
To be honest, it is at this point that I almost put down the book. That young girl of almost eleven is described as a woman. The graphic novel starts with the phrase “Three woman lived in Givenry”. The almost eleven year old is at various point in the opening panels drawn as an adult, in adult stylized, slightly sexualized poses. We are told that all boys wanted her to be their girlfriend.
Look, I get France is different and we Americans are supposedly prudish, but there are French women pushing back on the sexualization of young girls -read Consent by Vanessa Springora. And to be fair, the revel of graphic novel – which is clever but doesn’t quite work – makes the comment a little less icky. It also excuses some of the very sexist comments and behavior by the detectives which is very off putting.
Spoiler below
Spoiler
The reveal is that all three women are in fact one woman at the different stages of her life. She is now the crone and is telling the majority of the story. Clever, and it does work because you don’t see the three “women” together. There is a problem however, because if we are seeing the story though her and one detective that still doesn’t explain everything that we see. Additionally, while we might say all the boys wanted to date use back in high school, would we really sexualize ourselves that much? The boys are drawn as around ten, the girls not so much. And the positioning of the boys and girls when together is that of teens not that of most pre-teens. Honesty in one panel if the boy hadn’t been wearing clothes that are normally only wore by pre-teen boys, it would have looked like two teens hanging out. Also the detective’s conclusion, though correct, seems to come about simply because of the romantic rival aspect, and I am tired of that tropeThe use of the young girl is also execrated because there is little interaction between any women at all in the book - wouldn’t there be female friends? There is a woman associated with the police but she disappears shortly afterwards and is only there for the men to talk about each other.
But the reveal was clever, and the mystery is interesting. The artwork is wonderful. This graphic novel is based on a best selling French novel.