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nina_iv's review against another edition
emotional
informative
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Misogyny
avishajain's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
(3.25)
Harry styles world domination ig. But fr tho, this book in itself was something I wasn't expecting it to be and I'm excited to see harry play Tom (still wondering how they're gonna make the hair on his stomach blond 💀) (and oh also, there's no smut in here, so why is everyone so excited to see if Louis will body doubling for Patrick during the sex scenes since because of covid sex scenes are being filmed with the actors irl partners, because I don't think there's gonna be any sex scenes if there's no smut) Anyway, enjoy this objective review of the book, keeping aside the fact that Harry's gonna be playing Tom is the only reason I picked it up:
After reading this book all I can think about is three lives wasted, all because of homophobia, and about how angry I am at the law making it literally illegal to be gay, and how many lives have been ruined because of this. I am happy that our society is improving, but I am very well aware of the abundance of homophobia there is out there, and I just hope we can remove all of this evil from out society as soon as possible. A good book in general, but it was an average book for me, it just wasn't particularly for me but that doesn't mean you won't love it either, you might. This book did evoke a lot of feelings in me, especially how helpless I felt and how helpless queer people must have felt back then, it just makes me so angry and so sad everytime I think about it. I just hope our society keeps improving till there is no more of this evil left. I truly feel sorry for Marion, Patrick and Tom, all three of them had a disappointing life, I wish they could've simply been themselves, and after reading this I consider myself luckier than ever to be living in this age where you can be whoever you want to be, at the very least in the eyes of law. Very proud to say that the Indian law has even legalised gay marrige, and I hope every country does so, as it is our very, very basic right to be able to love whoever we want to love. An impactful book, will definitely never forget it.
Harry styles world domination ig. But fr tho, this book in itself was something I wasn't expecting it to be and I'm excited to see harry play Tom (still wondering how they're gonna make the hair on his stomach blond 💀) (and oh also, there's no smut in here, so why is everyone so excited to see if Louis will body doubling for Patrick during the sex scenes since because of covid sex scenes are being filmed with the actors irl partners, because I don't think there's gonna be any sex scenes if there's no smut) Anyway, enjoy this objective review of the book, keeping aside the fact that Harry's gonna be playing Tom is the only reason I picked it up:
After reading this book all I can think about is three lives wasted, all because of homophobia, and about how angry I am at the law making it literally illegal to be gay, and how many lives have been ruined because of this. I am happy that our society is improving, but I am very well aware of the abundance of homophobia there is out there, and I just hope we can remove all of this evil from out society as soon as possible. A good book in general, but it was an average book for me, it just wasn't particularly for me but that doesn't mean you won't love it either, you might. This book did evoke a lot of feelings in me, especially how helpless I felt and how helpless queer people must have felt back then, it just makes me so angry and so sad everytime I think about it. I just hope our society keeps improving till there is no more of this evil left. I truly feel sorry for Marion, Patrick and Tom, all three of them had a disappointing life, I wish they could've simply been themselves, and after reading this I consider myself luckier than ever to be living in this age where you can be whoever you want to be, at the very least in the eyes of law. Very proud to say that the Indian law has even legalised gay marrige, and I hope every country does so, as it is our very, very basic right to be able to love whoever we want to love. An impactful book, will definitely never forget it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
luccamaria's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"He needed me years ago, Marion." (p. 231)
yeah, fuck you marion, but also lowkey fuck you tom for continuing to be in a relationship with her and then blaming her for never leaving while it obviously takes two people to make a relationship.
i know what marion did was by far the most horrible thing in this book & this whole thing is fucked up for everyone involved, and mostly for patrick, but why is marion the only one being blamed when tom could've left her too, considering that he clearly didn't love her & it must have actually been easier for a man with a stable job to divorce and be unmarried in the 50s than it must've been for a woman?
also, we stan queen julia!
yeah, fuck you marion, but also lowkey fuck you tom for continuing to be in a relationship with her and then blaming her for never leaving while it obviously takes two people to make a relationship.
i know what marion did was by far the most horrible thing in this book & this whole thing is fucked up for everyone involved, and mostly for patrick, but why is marion the only one being blamed when tom could've left her too, considering that he clearly didn't love her & it must have actually been easier for a man with a stable job to divorce and be unmarried in the 50s than it must've been for a woman?
also, we stan queen julia!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Outing, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship
haley_vol6's review against another edition
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
1.0
Don't waste your time. Not worth it whatsoever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
The novel My Policeman was written by Bethan Roberts and was first published in 2012. It tells the story of the three individuals Thomas/Tom, Marion and Patrick that develop a polyamorous realtionship.
The plot on it's own had a great premise, but didn't deliver in my opinion. By making the whole story just really revolve around only these three human beings it got boring at one point. But I have to say that I would be pleased if this novel would be rewritten by the author so that these flaws could be fixed.
The characters were not my kind of dish. People who know me know that I really need well worked out characters in books. That means that they have to be diverse, have depth and not behave the same way all the time, unlike the characters in this book. I'm not saying they were bad, I'm just saying, that I personally didn't like them.
Also, I really really disliked the reapresentation of gay/achillean men in this book. The character of Patrick was in my opinion build wholly on the prejudice that gay men are sex driven and can only think about that. And that is not a good way of representing our minority.
The writing was okay. It wasn't all bad and it could buold a really beautiful atmosphere at some points by describing not too detailed but just detailed enough. But then there were moments, when that atmosphere was just suddenly tore to shreds.
Again, people who know me, know that I don't like first person POV very much, and it definitely didn't help about my opinion on this book.
So, was there anything that I liked? Not really. And I don't want you, dear reader of my review, to just read my review, because there are people out there who like this book. And maybe you are one of them.
So, yeah, I didn't like this book, but just like with all books, that is just one opinion.
The plot on it's own had a great premise, but didn't deliver in my opinion. By making the whole story just really revolve around only these three human beings it got boring at one point. But I have to say that I would be pleased if this novel would be rewritten by the author so that these flaws could be fixed.
The characters were not my kind of dish. People who know me know that I really need well worked out characters in books. That means that they have to be diverse, have depth and not behave the same way all the time, unlike the characters in this book. I'm not saying they were bad, I'm just saying, that I personally didn't like them.
Also, I really really disliked the reapresentation of gay/achillean men in this book. The character of Patrick was in my opinion build wholly on the prejudice that gay men are sex driven and can only think about that. And that is not a good way of representing our minority.
The writing was okay. It wasn't all bad and it could buold a really beautiful atmosphere at some points by describing not too detailed but just detailed enough. But then there were moments, when that atmosphere was just suddenly tore to shreds.
Again, people who know me, know that I don't like first person POV very much, and it definitely didn't help about my opinion on this book.
So, was there anything that I liked? Not really. And I don't want you, dear reader of my review, to just read my review, because there are people out there who like this book. And maybe you are one of them.
So, yeah, I didn't like this book, but just like with all books, that is just one opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
neptunereign's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infidelity
Moderate: Grief and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Sexism, and Misogyny
woolfism's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Outing, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Gaslighting, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
lhenschke's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
maxella's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
This book made me feel so many emotions.
I love how flawed and real every caracter was. I love how angry this book made me. I loved how the writer managed to tie all the ends together in the end of the book.
I think that at some point I managed to love and hate (with my whole heart) each of the main caracters.
But really, this has been such an informative book towards queer history and made me think about our current time and what we consider to be taboo right now, might just be the most normal thing in just a couple of years.
*SPOILERS*
My most favourite caracter has to be Julia. What a wonderful person.
I loved that the book didn't only concentrate on the gay aspect of the 50s, even if briefly, it also touched the subject of what it was like to be a lesbian/bisexual back then. Honestly I'd love to be friends with a person like Julia. She was such a cheerful, polite and uplifting caracter. I think it's great that in the end Marion actually decided to apologise to her and hear out her part of the story.
Patrick, oh they don't deserve you. Why would you ever fall for a guy like Tom, I don't get.
What a wonderful caracter. I especially loved his relationship he had with his mother. The sassiness was just so good.
I love how flawed and real every caracter was. I love how angry this book made me. I loved how the writer managed to tie all the ends together in the end of the book.
I think that at some point I managed to love and hate (with my whole heart) each of the main caracters.
But really, this has been such an informative book towards queer history and made me think about our current time and what we consider to be taboo right now, might just be the most normal thing in just a couple of years.
*SPOILERS*
My most favourite caracter has to be Julia. What a wonderful person.
I loved that the book didn't only concentrate on the gay aspect of the 50s, even if briefly, it also touched the subject of what it was like to be a lesbian/bisexual back then. Honestly I'd love to be friends with a person like Julia. She was such a cheerful, polite and uplifting caracter. I think it's great that in the end Marion actually decided to apologise to her and hear out her part of the story.
Patrick, oh they don't deserve you. Why would you ever fall for a guy like Tom, I don't get.
What a wonderful caracter. I especially loved his relationship he had with his mother. The sassiness was just so good.
"Good. Now what's going on in filthy old Brighton? Are you behaving yourself?"
"Certainly not."
She uncurled her best devilish smile. "Marvellous. Let's have a drink and you can tell me all about it."
I'd love to try one of his dishes. Some parts of the book where his food was being described, I got so hungry!
Me and him would have a lot to talk about since we're both interested in books, art, music and italian cooking. I hate seeing my favourite caracters being s**t all over but I guess it's harder to get the reader's sympathy when terrible things happend to terrible caracters.
I absolutely despised Tom's and Marion's caracters. So much problematic bulls**t going on there, so I'll keep it brief. Tom was a bitter, misogynistic ass bi**h and Marion was just straight up dumb smh.... Actually you know, Marion was also quite bitter most of the time, so they make a great match I guess.
I guess times were different back then so I'll forgive some of the dumbness even though I'm sure they would still be considered assholes back then.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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