Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

168 reviews

paniquemecanique's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I have never ever read a book like this before. If you ate trying to challenge you but you don't want something hard to get into, this is perfect. The story and the world are immersive, and you are not bored once because the personnality of the main character is infectious. We discover everything with him which makes it easy to follow. The story unfolds itself to be creept, dark, surprising and gloomy  when you least expect it. It is impossible to describe. Simply read it. 
Btw if you grew up reading the chronicles of narnia, this is just a perfect adult version.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

katieduffy151's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

A gripping novel, weird at first but embrace the weirdness and you will be rewarded!! There's a mystery that slowly becomes unravelled. Would highly recommend although it's not my usual genre. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

nialiversuch's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit

lillieb130's review

hopeful mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Mental illness

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Slavery, and Gaslighting

suzylit's review

emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.25

A stunning storytelling. Clarke uses the narrator’s limited internal point of view to keep the reader in a state of uncertainty. The atmosphere is both mysterious and kind of serene thanks to Piranesi’s naïveté. He is a very loveable narrator who reminds us that the world is full of little wonders. At the same time, Clarke is able to conjure a dark plot that contrasts abruptly with the narrator’s childlike vision of the world.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Dementia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

briiforte's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

The writing begins slow and informative, but that’s the whole point. Piranesi is an unreliably naive narrator who strives to see the best The House has to offer. He’s notoriously too kind for his own good, but—once the plot

becomes apparent that The Other is not a protagonist

, the remainder of the story is gripping and magical.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness

Minor: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Cursing, Gun violence, Slavery, and Vomit

kirkspockreads's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Kidnapping and Sexual assault

aas's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Child death, Vomit, Confinement, Death, Blood, Murder, Violence, Grief, and Kidnapping

coryyalva's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

EDIT: changing my review to 5 stars because it has been a week since I read it and I can't stop thinking about it. It is forever ingrained in my mind in the best way.

this book was absolutely breathtaking. getting to follow Piranesi around The House as he explored and theorized of its nature was truly an honor, and to watch the plot unfold into something I had never even expected was exhilarating.

thank you thank you Susanna Clark for writing this beautiful, twisted masterpiece!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping and Emotional abuse

miller8d's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

I loved that this book felt like a refreshing escape from the normal structure and narrative that many fiction books follow.

I was surprised by most of the book, and deeply appreciated that the magic of this universe was both fantastical and simple, both logical and inexplicable. I found myself confused about the storyline/losing focus frequently throughout the book, which normally would bother me, but it felt like I was experiencing the same thing as the narrator LOL, which I enjoyed. I found the narrator’s genuinely kind soul very touching and deeply enjoyed the process of discovering what had happened. I didn’t realize it was a mystery novel until halfway through which is awesome. The well-established isolated world meant that, with the appearance of each new person or information, it was genuinely shocking. Very interesting and refreshing read.

Also, I pictured The Other as Brett Goldstein.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Gun violence, Dementia, Confinement, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Trafficking, and Blood

Although this book covers many dark topics,

beyond the main topics of confinement and kidnapping and gaslighting,

there are very few graphic descriptions of physical violence or torture. Like for example,

there is a gun and attempted shooting, but nobody actually gets shot, and there are no graphic details about it, etc.