Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

10 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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Abortion

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, Rape, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and War

spookyaz's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.25

I liked the writing and descriptions and all of the little details. I did not like the treatment of queer and neurodivergent people in this book- very underdeveloped and full of harmful stereotypes and such. That being said, I guess I didn't really expect anything more from most fiction books unless they're explicitly written by/for queer/neurodiverse folks. Sad but true. I also did not like how the romance took over the plot from the original mystery. The ending I found jarring and very much an "excuse me???" moment. Not to say that it was necessarily a completely bad ending. The plot twists were not things I saw coming, but that's a usual thing with me. I don't know if I'd recommend this book to people, to be honest- I might have to sit with my thoughts a bit more.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Abortion, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma

teaselkie's review against another edition

emotional 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: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Abortion, Infertility, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, Sexism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

sara_olivia's review

mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Rape, and Death

Minor: Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Antisemitism

miyothecat's review against another edition

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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape and Pregnancy

alisonannk's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Abortion, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Dementia, Outing, and Toxic relationship

christinereichard's review

lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

A message I can always greet with open arms: Find the small pleasures in life, and recognize that little joys are often just as rewarding as big joys. Slow-paced, but the mystery of the virgin birth was a great draw. 

I know a lot of people hated the ending, but I think it only drives the message home.

Yes, the ending with Howard was shocking and sudden. But my takeaway was that the spontaneity of life is everpresent and we should enjoy what we have while we can. 

I would've restructured it though. I wouldn't have mentioned the train crash at the beginning of the book, and instead placed it right after the final chapter. That way, the "enjoy what you have while you can" message would still be there (sorry), but the date would be re-emphasized to show readers that Jean's article was pushed off the paper's front page. Double whammy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Chronic illness

betsygrace's review

dark mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

One woman claims she had a virgin birth. When a local journalist begins to investigate, she discovers things are more complex than they appear. Through a twisting web of secrets, the truth comes out and changes everything— with a twist at the end. 

I feel like Gretchen is aspec. This book is dialogue heavy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Chronic illness, and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use

laura_cornelia's review

hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

Minor: Rape, Abortion, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

oliviafaye's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship