Reviews with content warning for War - Small Pleasures

Reviews tagging 'War'

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

6 reviews

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

2.5

I’ll be very honest— I would never have bothered picking this novel up if it weren’t for the fact that it was selected for a book club I somewhat recently joined. Reading the synopsis, there wasn’t anything that particularly stood out to me, so I had low expectations. This ended up being the right call, as I didn’t feel disappointed or felt that my time was wasted. I didn’t find Small Pleasures especially remarkable in either narrative or characters, but this is definitely more a matter of personal interest than anything. I think some readers may find the mystery and eventual romance compelling, and I will say that it is refreshing to have a struggling protagonist who is somewhat older (forty, if I’m remembering correctly). And, to Chambers’ credit, I did like her prose enough. She took a rather quiet and restrained approach that was slightly reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro, and I thought she did a good job maintaining that tone while still being able to capture the intense emotions that Jean (the protagonist) felt.

Before reading, I decided to check the reviews out, and I was surprised to see a relatively large number of reviewers who criticized the ending. This somewhat colored my reading experience, especially because I was keen to find out why so many people disliked it. All I can say is that if an afterword is required to explain the ending, then something needs to be reworked (and I will say the ending was unsatisfying). That being said—and to kind of defend the author—I can kind of see why she made this decision, especially considering that she did some foreshadowing at the very start of the novel. Another critique I have that I didn’t see as many people address was how the author decided to handle a lesbian relationship. I didn’t like that it was used as a plot twist, along with the fact that it was somewhat villainized (to me, at least).

I would say take this review with a grain of salt, considering the circumstances that led to me reading it.

Content Warnings

littlecatinabox's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-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

3.75

Content Warnings

dylangodfreyy's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Loved this book but docked a star for the ending

I would have preferred some clarity on whether Howard survived the train crash, however I recognise this as a choice to create a shocking and open-ended ending

Content Warnings

jackbifrost's review

Go to review page

hopeful mysterious relaxing sad fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

bookswithcapri's review

Go to review page

challenging hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

heliaroghani's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

2.75

For me, this is a complicated book to review. On one hand, I loved the comforting aspects of the story; just the general feeling of warmth I got by reading about Jean performing daily household tasks and giving elaborate descriptions of food. That, I really enjoyed.

However ... the ending. I mean ... what? I was shocked, but not in a good way. I felt like I had read the author's attempt to end her story in a shocking, sad, and tragic way; all of that, but in a way that completely missed the mark. Not only did my shock dwarf the upset I should have felt, but the main plot, its conclusion was almost completely erased. One can explain that away with the ending, but it still felt very incomplete. Reading a whole book to discover the mystery of parthenogenesis ... for what? I don't even know.

Anyway, I really wish I could give this a higher rating. I really wanted to like it, having read it based off the recommendation of one of my favorite booktubers. Looking back, though, I should have paid more attention to their emphasis of an odd ending. The conclusion of a story usually makes or breaks it for me.

Content Warnings

More...