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jletra's review
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Medical content
abbie_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I made a good decision on reading all of Maggie O’Farrell’s backlist! This is my third by her and it’s a gripping dual POV narrative following two women, 50 years apart, figuring out motherhood. I loved Lexie’s storyline, a single woman in the 50s and 60s defying all convention, making a name for herself in journalism, raising a baby as an unmarried, single mother and basically just doing whatever she wants. The second storyline follows Elena, a painter who is struggling to get back to grips with her work after the traumatic birth of her son. Juggling that with her boyfriend who is acting increasingly strange, experiencing flashbacks to a childhood he previously couldn’t remember which knock him for six each time.
An engaging read which you should check out if you enjoy family secrets and themes of motherhood!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual assault
Drowning; the SA a man traps a woman between his body and a work bench, but it is interrupted and she escapes unharmedlinda3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
jbear's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was such a strange read for me. My first book of the author's was 'I am, I am, I am' which is semi-biographical. I was absolutely entranced by the writing and story-telling, rated it 5-stars and was thrilled to see novels from the same author. However, I think I picked a dud here. I feel as though the author was trying something new here, and it didn't quite work out. There were some brilliant bits of writing, and the story had promise. However, there was so much descriptive filler that did not add to the story at all. I'm talking 3 or more pages describing 5 minutes of a character's working day that is in no way relevant to the plot. In my opinion, for this storyline to work, the character development needed to be the main focus of the book, and a far greater portion of the word count would have been better used on this. Overall, this was a very promising story that was severely let down by excessive, unnecessary description. Resulting in a painfully slow-paced book that I very nearly did not finish. However, I will try one of Maggie O'Farrell's earlier novels as the reviews on these are typically excellent and the good bits of writing really are very good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
bexdubyah's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Minor: Excrement and Miscarriage
cheye13's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A beautifully written story, with interesting and well-rounded characters. It was entertaining, but I'm wonderinng what the takeaway is. It carries an air of a life lesson, yet I'm not sure what that's supposed to be, let alone if I agree. There's nothing revolutionary about the characters – it doesn't show an unseen side of parenthood or womanhood. It's simply a well-crafted story about interesting people entwined in interesting ways. Not spectacular, but a lovely little read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Excrement, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion, Miscarriage, and Sexism
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