Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

15 reviews

cptnstphy's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

This was a nuanced window into a challenging time period. Neat to learn about Belle De La Costa Greene and the art that fascinated her. I found it a bit slow and repetitive (sometimes it felt like every other chapter ended with a similar line repeating her name and a question of whether someone would find out). 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, Grief, Abortion, Death, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

Minor: War

gris_zorra's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Abortion, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Xenophobia, War, and Racial slurs

dev921's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, War, Classism, Slavery, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Grief, Hate crime, and Medical content

leannanecdote's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Sexual content, Racism, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Classism, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Moderate: Hate crime, War, Slavery, and Sexism

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Abandonment, Classism, and Grief

marrireadsandrambles's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Abortion, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, and Lesbophobia

kaycie51782's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This book tells the story of JP Morgan's personal librarian, a Black woman who passes herself as Portuguese in early 1900s New York. It is a fascinating story that was incredibly eye opening. They tell the story of how they are able to live as a white family, not shying away from that trauma. The book talks about the immediate post Civil War South, and the hope that was sadly quickly dashed.

This book covers a lot of deep topics, and it doesn't hold much back. Be warned: there blatant racism, misogyny, heavy alcohol consumption, abortion, abandonment...

My main criticism of the book is that it's told in first person, but it very deliberately and overtly points things out. I think telling it in omniscient third person would have felt less like I was hearing a summary than a story. It's like in video games where the next person you need to talk to is highlighted, the author basically points and says "Look at this" instead of molding it into the story.

The book is less about what is in the library (though it is discussed) and more about how she loves through the world carefully, deliberately, and choosing to hide in plain sight. It was a fascinating look at life in 1900s New York as a woman, moving in orbit around the ultra rich (Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, etc.) but being constantly terrified of having it all taken away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Antisemitism, Miscarriage, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Classism, Grief, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

kcrockford's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Initially the pace felt very slow but picked up about halfway through, and I couldn't put it down. I didn't initially realize this book is based off of real people which adds an extra layer of intrigue for the reader. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Grief, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Racism

readbycarina's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Racism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Alcohol, Antisemitism, Grief, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent and War

susannah_knox's review

emotional informative reflective medium-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

3.5

I appreciated getting to know the real person behind the novel and this was an interesting, fun read... but I was not in love with the writing style.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, Abortion, Antisemitism, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, and Infidelity