Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Dom drzwi

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Dom drzwi by Tan Twan Eng

20 reviews

angorarabbit's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Context: I have not read any works by Somerset Maugham yet. I am curious though.

Told from two different viewpoints in alternating chapters; Lesley’s in first person and Willie’s in third. The writing is what one should expect from a Booker winner particularly on how the light falls in a room or on the ocean. Where I was disappointed was in the secondary characters. Especially Dr Loh, there seemed to be very little explanation to his actions.

While being an enjoyable read the book also brings up serious topics of marriage vs attraction, class, and justice. I enjoy books that make me think. I just wish I had read more of the Malaysian and Chinese view points in this book.

Content Warnings

khrysallis's review against another edition

3.75

dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m feeling a little conflicted on what to say about the novel.

Set primarily in 1920s colonial Malaya and written from the viewpoint of the white colonisers, the language they use to describe my own countrymen was uncomfortable (though I supposed that is the point, seeing that the writer is also Malaysian). It’s a complex mixture of narratives, a mix of more uncomfortable topics such as infidelity, subtle racism, homophobia, and more.

The prose is beautiful, I’ll give it that, but to me the characters are a little flat, and doesn’t quite evoke the feelings within me to empathise or feel strongly for them and their predicaments.

Perhaps if I were in a different headspace I could have enjoyed this more, but it’s an okay read as it is.

Content Warnings

hjb_128's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious reflective slow-paced

The House of Doors was a bit of a difficult read for me, not so much due to its content and narrative, but rather because of its pacing. Eng takes an inordinate amount of time to let the story unfold, which is further intensified by the fact that he is also very slow to reveal the complexity of his characters. For me, at least, it wasn’t until the halfway mark—perhaps even later—that I actually started taking interest in what was happening, which, at that point, is far later than I’d like. Curiosity got the better of me, though, and I found myself pushing through to the end rather than dropping it.

I can tell Eng dedicated a lot of time into doing research for this novel, which is primarily set in Malaysia during the 1920s, as well as featuring an actual English author, W. Somerset Maugham. Furthermore, there were a lot of threads to grasp that dealt with complex topics ranging from colonial life in Penang, the “sanctity” of marriage, to political unrest in China. On a somewhat related note, I thought it was a really interesting decision on Eng’s part to write from the perspective of colonizers—wealthy ones, at that—in such a way that it actually left me feeling very uneasy throughout the novel. I want to say this was deliberate though, considering his exploration of the subjectivity of “good morals” through these characters, even though it was done in an agonizingly slow manner.

A bit unfortunately, this novel didn’t entirely work for me due to the slow pacing. However, I think I wasn’t in the best headspace to read such an intricately layered novel, otherwise I think I would have better appreciated what Eng was trying to do.

Content Warnings

douxflux's review against another edition

3.75

reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

sourpatchsims's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

krandelzhofer's review against another edition

2.0

mysterious reflective slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It felt like the author couldn't choose which plot to follow. There were several plots going on at once-none of which were fully developed. I was unclear what the author was trying to convey.

Content Warnings

kimveach's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I started listening to this book on audio but found it difficult since I wanted to look up so many references and words. I only listen to audiobooks when I'm driving, so this was not something I could manage. I switched to a hardback book and enjoyed it so much more. I'm not sure that I've ever read something set in Malaysia, and I loved learning about a piece of its history. The integration of Somerset Maugham's life with the other characters in Penang was excellent.

Content Warnings