Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

8 reviews

jenxreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This historical novel was inspirational and brutal. The storytelling captivates you from beginning to end. The journey of these characters was difficult to read through.  I loved this book because it tells the untold stories of those often neglected in society.  I definitely recommend this audiobook if you enjoy inspirational and historical narratives.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Classism, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Violence, Confinement, Colonisation, Murder, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Forced institutionalization

gkm00's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racial slurs, Death, Excrement, Medical content, Abandonment, Deportation, Rape, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Addiction, Classism, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, Alcohol, Confinement, Misogyny, Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Torture

maddiet425's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Deportation, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

author2223's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Alcoholism

nimeneth's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.5

I'm the minority here but nothing really... Happens. There's a lot of misery, but it's all told, not shown. The writing style is very much "this happened then this happened then this happened" and while there is dialogue and some small bits of introspection, everything felt a bit flat. The "twists" were all fairly predictable. I also had a bit of a problem with each of the endings for the women. Hazel and Ruby's endings were too neat and tidy, Evangeline's was too drawn out, and Mathinna didn't really get one. I'm left feeling unsatisfied with all of them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Child death

cepbreed's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.5

Good on me for finishing our test run book club book! But waiting for everyone else to be done and for my friend to return from abroad is torture. I feel the need to discuss this book in detail for hours with a side of charcuterie ASAP.

From the bottom of my heart, I love the overall message of this novel to pass kindness forward. A simple act of kindness can change someone's life entirely and there is so much beauty in that. Evangeline wasn't treated kindly (without underlying bad intentions) for a second when she was working as a governess yet she maintained her character and was able to aid both Olive and Hazel. They in turn passed that kindness forward and impacted the lives of others. Kindness is vital to the human condition, but one of my favorite moments in the story was someone refusing a kind offer.

When Hazel reunited with Mathinna she extended a hand once more and offered to shelter her in Dr. Dunne's home, but Mathinna refused. Hazel showed her so much kindness in the past but no matter what if Mathinna had accepted she still would’ve been in her care and indebted to a white woman. I appreciate Christina Baker Kline truly allowing her to be free after so many years of being at the whims of white people.

Hazel became a quick favorite of mine once she was introduced. There are so many things about her character to love, but one facet of her backstory has been stuck in my brain. I love how the thing she stole, which resulted in her imprisonment and transportation, was literally a silver spoon. She was a child, shunned by her own mother, and the straw she was forced to grasp at was the exact concept of a comfortable and struggle-free life. She could've been happy, even in poverty, if her mother was loving, but instead, she got a woman who threw her into the streets both literally and metaphorically forcing her to vy for a silver spoon which could never be hers anyway.
 
Dr. Dunne really crept up on me as a character and I ended up loving him. Originally I was wary of him. Who could blame me? The poor protagonists were betrayed and wronged by so many people in their lives I was instinctually distrustful of the conveniently kind doctor, but I was pleasantly surprised to see myself be wrong. I LOVE that man!!!

To be so real, for a minute there I thought he was going to fall for Evangeline, BUT THEN SHE FUCKING DIED??? I NEED TO DISCUSS THAT TWIST WITH MY FELLOW BOOK CLUB MEMBERS BUT I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE END OF THE MONTH.

Song:

• evermore - Taylor Swift

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Classism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Excrement, Child death, and Confinement

backpackingbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring slow-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

4.75

Some books you start reading and instantly know are going to be five-star reads. The Exiles gave me that feeling that continued right up to the final page. What. A. Book.

Feeling extremely grateful to my book club for picking this one as I had never come across this novel or author, both of which have now become firm favourites.

Firstly, the writing was nothing short of stunning. It was beautifully descriptive, shockingly realistic, and truly captivating. The parts on the ship had my stomach churning - I've never read such a detailed description of a voyage and it showed just how much research the author put into her writing and characters. There was one part that left me gasping (IYKYK) and was a huge risk that the author took but it more than paid off.

The characters were so realistic that I feel like I'm missing a small limb now that I've finished the book. I became so attached to their stories and livelihoods that it felt especially hard to part from them. This is definitely one of those books where I could have quite happily had an extra 100+ pages to keep the story from ending. Evangeline's bravery, Hazel's determination, Mathinna's resilience, and Ruby's stubbornness were all traits that produced four strong, memorable leading females that will stay with me for a long time.

Another thing I appreciated was how the author blended fact with fiction. I love well-researched books that are based, to some extent, on historical events and The Exiles offered so much more than just a fictional tale. It was a poignant and shocking insight into colonialism, injustice, abuse and mistreatment of indigenous people, and the imprisonment of female convicts sent to Australia from Britain for the main purpose of breeding. While massively eye-opening, it was also educational and made me want to expand my knowledge, especially as I now live in this country myself.

A real gem of a masterpiece. I can't wait to explore this author's other works.

Rating breakdown

• Plot/narrative - 4.8
• Writing style/readability - 4.9
• Characters - 4.8
• Diverse themes - 4.8
• Ending - 4.7

Overall - 4.8

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Confinement

Moderate: Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.25

This is precisely what historical fiction should be.  It's an intimate story focusing on two young women and a girl against the backdrop of settling Australia by the British.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Excrement, Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Animal death, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence