Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

7 reviews

meg_elyse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Deportation

Moderate: Sexism, Racial slurs, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Cancer, and Colonisation

nicole1832's review

emotional reflective 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? No

2.5

I'm having a hard time understanding why this book is so popular. It is simply not well-written. 

The three point of views interested me at first, but by the end of the book, I was only interested in one of them. Caroline's socialite life felt vapid compared to the hardships Kasia went through, and reading about Herta became uncomfortable by the latter part of the book. I had a hard time understanding how Caroline's and Herta's POVs justified their presence in the context of the overall story, which was at its heart really about Kasia.  (Side note: the cover of this book is *very* misleading. It implies that the three POV characters eventually become friends. That is very much not the case.) 

The book seems to want to be an examination of the emotions of these three women, but it always seemed to back away when things got most interesting. This was clearest in Herta's POV - she went from being horrified at what was happening at the camps to being complicit in it at what felt like breakneck speed. I understand not wanting to delve into a Nazi's POV, but if you're not going to fully explore it, why bother giving her a POV at all? 

Meanwhile, Caroline's behavior and attitudes toward her romance arc were hard to understand. Her arc became frustrating to read toward the end and ultimately felt unnecessary. And Kasia had problems with PTSD and anger later in life that were glossed over and ultimately resolved in a way that felt insultingly simplified.

On top of all that, the writing felt trite and amateurish, easy to read but ultimately failing to create any kind of mood. (And this book had some of the dullest hetero romances possible.) 

I was interested in the first half, simply because WWII stories, and stories about the horrors of the concentration camps, will always be powerful. But the importance of the historical subject matter is really all the book has going for it, in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Death, Death of parent, and Medical content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, War, Body horror, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

lavenderlilacs1912's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Lilac Girls tells the story of three women whose experiences become intertwined during the Second World War. From socialite Caroline Ferriday to Ravensbruck internee Kasia, Martha Hall Kelly's debut novel brings loss, trauma, and hope alive in this account based on a true story. 

Caroline Ferriday's former summer home is now a historic house museum, and my workplace. My rating comes from the fact that I read this for work, and while it was very well-written and a good read, it's not the type of book I'd normally go for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, and War

lisbethleftwich's review

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

mktaylor15's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense 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

4.5

Eye opening and very well written

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

claudiamacpherson's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-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

3.5

Based on the true story of the “rabbits” of Ravensbruck, this book followed the alternately heartbreaking and inspiring story of three women during and after the Second World War. Caroline Farraday is a wealthy New York socialite working for the French embassy and dating a married French opera singer. Kasia Kuzmerick is a teenager in Poland who decides to join the Polish resistance movement. Herta Oberheuser is a rare female doctor, and when she struggles to find a practice willing to take on a woman, she decides to respond to a posting at a government facility—Ravensbruck. The lives of the three women weave together as the war puts them in situations they could never have imagined.

A few years ago, I visited Auschwitz, one of the largest concentration camps from WWII. It was not (and should not be) an enjoyable visit, but it feels important to go and witness the place where such atrocities were committed, to mourn those who suffered and were killed there. Similarly, this story felt important to read and understand. I have trouble reading stories with graphic violence and cruelty, but I am glad to know the story of the women upon whom the Nazis performed their experiments. It is not a story I have read about or seen in movies or TV shows before. One of the reasons I love historical fiction, particularly when it focuses on women’s lives, is because they are often overlooked or seen as less important in the face of other, “bigger” historical catastrophes. If you have any interest in this period of history, I think this book did a great job of telling the story, especially because it did not end with the end of the war but continued, following the journeys of the three women and how their lives were affected.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending): I don’t know that a story like this could ever be said to have a happy ending, but this ending is probably about as close as it gets. It was inspiring and, for the most part, very cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Panic attacks/disorders

iconoclasticgentleman's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Somehow i found Herta's thread to be the most compelling. Riley does a good job reflecting how insidious the Nazi ideology is and how the Germans felt their grievances after WW1 were justified. Still horrifying, though. 

Definitely picked up once I got 1/3 of the way through or so. Caroline Ferriday seems like an amazing woman, but her romance with Paul was the weakest part of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide attempt