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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
Graphic: Death and Abortion
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, Rape, and Medical content
Minor: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and War
sophiabenton's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
such a nice chilled read! i’ve seen this book everywhere online since it came out, with a really memorable cover so i picked it up in the library without even knowing what it was about. i didn’t actually read the blurb until i was 30 pages in, wondering where the story was actually going to go 😂
it’s not my usual genre, with the characters being middle aged and it being general/historical fiction but it was a really relaxing laid back book. a nice break from stressful fantasy i usually read! really well written and nice historical touches in terms of descriptions and vocabulary.
it’s not my usual genre, with the characters being middle aged and it being general/historical fiction but it was a really relaxing laid back book. a nice break from stressful fantasy i usually read! really well written and nice historical touches in terms of descriptions and vocabulary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Abortion and Rape
jmalcolm's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I became fond of Jean as a protagonist but felt that the characte development didn't go far enough in fully liberating her from the domestic routines that govern her life throughout most of the book. She dwells on the restrictions her staid life often (not being able to attend pub outings with colleagues/ having to wrangle a visit from Mrs Melsom to facilitate an afternoon of freedom)and yet she seems to exchange one life of domestic servitude for another (running errands for Gretchen/ looking after Margaret). There are nods to her escaping the mundantiy that she has come to accept (the purchase of the bold blue rug/ her refusal to save the new dress for 'best') however I wanted to see more of her true character coming through which weren't explicitly tied to her relationship with Howard. Despite her lack of independance in the book, she feels like a very independent woman and I felt that the opportunity was missed to use the relationship with the Tilbury's as a foil for her own personal growth.
The ending also reinforced this as we were left feeling Howard's anticipation of the reunion where I think it would have been more appropriate for the final scenes to be from Jean's perspective (either as she waited for her lover or as she finally asserted her right to independence away from her Mother).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Minor: Rape
swaino's review
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
This book gave me mixed emotions. The writing style was flawless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading these perfectly curated sentences and chapters.
It’s the plot that has given me the mixed feelings. I regret to say that I believed it to be quite predictable, with the origins of the virgin birth being what I had expected from the very beginning. The ending was also quite unnecessary and, if I dare say, almost ruined the book for me (whether that was out of heartbreak for the main character or a somewhat lazy plot, I am not so sure).
Before the end, I wanted to give this book 4/5 stars, but the ending took me back. Perhaps after a few days of ruminating over this book I may change my mind.
It’s the plot that has given me the mixed feelings. I regret to say that I believed it to be quite predictable, with the origins of the virgin birth being what I had expected from the very beginning. The ending was also quite unnecessary and, if I dare say, almost ruined the book for me (whether that was out of heartbreak for the main character or a somewhat lazy plot, I am not so sure).
Before the end, I wanted to give this book 4/5 stars, but the ending took me back. Perhaps after a few days of ruminating over this book I may change my mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexism
loesm's review against another edition
emotional
relaxing
sad
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion
irislovescats's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Such a great book, a mystery without it being the main focus of the book - which I found so gripping combined with the reflective tones of the character’s internal monologue. A few plot twists, which are well set up and timed. Overall, a beautiful book that I would love to be able to read again for the first time 🧡
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Rape and Abortion
nesilla's review
lighthearted
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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death, and Cancer
Moderate: Rape
bug_lightyear's review against another edition
3.25
I quite enjoyed the first half of the book where it's a nice and quaint story with an intriguing thing going on.
But then it turns into a love affair with a married man, who is the husband of the main character's new friend, and when we understand that the "virgin birth" is actually likelyrape of an unconscious young woman by a mentally ill tennager it suddenly becomes quite horrific as a looming possibility and it doesn't feel adressed seriously enough.
This book has many disabled/sick/chronically ill characters as well as lesbian characters, which should be great, but they are written to be detestable, annoying, and the fault for everything going wrong in everyone else's life.
I don't think I ever read a book where main characters have rheumatoid arthritis, and after my own experience in a rehab clinic I was interested to read about my counterpart in a 1950's sanatorium. But this place is used as the backdrop for a very sordid plot twist where the bad guy is a mentally ill teenager.
The lesbian love story could have been sweet, but the lover is portrayed as an annoying and dirty character who is just wrecking the almost perfect marriage of the main character's new friend.
We need more disability and queer rep in books, but not like that.
Finally the afterword feels quite tone deaf to me. The author heard about a tragedy fitting her timeline and uses it as a looming catastrophy about to happen to the characters, but we never read what happened. In the afterword the author writes that it was a horrific event that traumatised a generation of people, families and victims who still recount the events all these decades later. To have this traumatising event used as an "interesting" narrative device felt quite insensitive to me.
But then it turns into a love affair with a married man, who is the husband of the main character's new friend, and when we understand that the "virgin birth" is actually likely
This book has many disabled/sick/chronically ill characters as well as lesbian characters, which should be great, but they are written to be detestable, annoying, and the fault for everything going wrong in everyone else's life.
I don't think I ever read a book where main characters have rheumatoid arthritis, and after my own experience in a rehab clinic I was interested to read about my counterpart in a 1950's sanatorium. But this place is used as the backdrop for a very sordid plot twist where the bad guy is a mentally ill teenager.
The lesbian love story could have been sweet, but the lover is portrayed as an annoying and dirty character who is just wrecking the almost perfect marriage of the main character's new friend.
We need more disability and queer rep in books, but not like that.
Finally the afterword feels quite tone deaf to me. The author heard about a tragedy fitting her timeline and uses it as a looming catastrophy about to happen to the characters, but we never read what happened. In the afterword the author writes that it was a horrific event that traumatised a generation of people, families and victims who still recount the events all these decades later. To have this traumatising event used as an "interesting" narrative device felt quite insensitive to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Rape
bookchatwithbeth's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
castoningrey's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Rape