Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Le Bal des folles by Victoria Mas

4 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

informative tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Writing: 3.25⭐️/5 

The writing, while insightful in many sections, focuses mostly on telling rather than showing. For many passages, the passage directly stated Mas’ thesis, pushing forward a firm theme rather than allowing the reader to come to conclusions on their own. This did make the book extremely accessible and a much quicker read.

Characters: 3⭐️/5

The characters felt real enough, and yet also rather flat in comparison to the content matter. Where I hoped to find depth, I was met with surface-level characters who occasionally displayed features that dipped below the surface. That being said, the characters were relatively intriguing and, since the story was short, they kept interest for the course of the novel. 

Plot: 3⭐️/5 

The concept of the plot is incredibly interesting but the execution fell a bit flat. While still enjoyable and interesting, both the main plot and the side plots left me wanting more.

Who Should Read This Book? 

• Those looking for an introduction to historical fiction
• Those wanting to learn more about Salpêtrière

Content Warnings? 

• Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, 

Post-Reading Rating:  2.75⭐️/5

Left me wanting more.

Final Rating: 3.0⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual content, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Drug use, Rape, Violence, and Vomit

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad 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? No

4.0

A beautiful, haunting tale, unfortunately based on true events (loosely). A really character-driven study of the plight of women in 19th century France, centred around the (real) Saltpêtrière asylum.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse

loxeletters's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed learning about 19th century Paris and the culture's misogyny, as far as one can enjoy this. It was very interesting.

I also liked the magical realism/supernatural aspects, though they were much less prevalent in the second half of the book.

This book actually challenged me on some of my core beliefs as a writer - the author does a lot of "head-hopping", which is usually frowned upon in modern fiction, though it used to be quite common in classic literature. It forced me to confront whether I actually don't like this technique or whether that was just ingrained in me from countless online repetition. My final conclusion is that I don't know. It did feel quite jarring a lot of the time and often  broke the immersion. But maybe that was intentional?

In any case, I think that the translation was a bit subpar, featuring dangling modifiers and comma splices a lot. Again, maybe that's just the author's style, but I'd be willing to bet it's the translation. 

Overall I have mixed feelings on this book. It was easy to read and engaging, plus I learnt a lot, but the prose just felt disconnected at times in a way that I can't really explain. Still, a very solid book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Drug abuse

imkaytie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Drug abuse, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault