Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

4 reviews

macyh3's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

how does the write these things? she just takes all the tiniest thoughts and noticings from the whole world and compiles it into these sagas of complexity and depth. this book is so simple. it’s just life. no crazy twists and no crimes of passion or explosive love stories. the world looks different through her eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death, Blood, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Dementia

futuretreeman's review

medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, Drug use, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Bullying, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

jjoyce's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

renepierre's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

“We had made a fetish out of our misfortune, fallen in love with it.”

An early contender for a favourite book of the year. The story follows Danny and Maeve, brother and sister growing up in the Dutch House, a place of grandeur that holds a history of its own. When their mother disappears and their father remarries a women named Andrea, everything changes. The siblings are shows an act of betrayal that they will hold onto and obsess over for the rest of their lives, which ultimately changes the trajectory of their lives. Patchett explores selfishness through all of her characters, but at the same time, adds a level of selflessness in them that constantly contradicts and levels them out as they try to navigate their lives and recover from their whole world being torn apart. 

The only reason this book isn’t a five star read for me is because of the amount of typos throughout this novel, I found it really distracting, especially in the important scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness