Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Lessons by Ian McEwan

23 reviews

raelin's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I am glad I finished this, because I liked it more than I thought I did halfway through. I needed the reflections of the old man on the young man to balance out the thoughts of the young man, and I had to keep reading to get to that part. 

There was a lot in this to digest and it is ripe for discussion in a book club.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Infidelity and Domestic abuse

rubyjubbbaddiel's review

dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Everything about this book shouts Ian McEwan. It’s beautiful and elaborately written and of course involves some sort of disturbing sexual exploit. This book left me with existential panic but by the end became an enjoyable read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

The start is a struggle tbh but it does improve a lot, about growing up and getting old and just life more generally

‘He wasn’t waiting for her. But if she ever turned up he wanted his options open. Which was another was of saying, he was waiting.’

‘A form of narcissism, or closely related paranoia.’

‘It was his right to want nothing.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

rosereadsalot's review

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, War, Death of parent, Dementia, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jennikreads's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Cancer

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Transphobia

lynnenad's review

challenging 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

4.0

I enjoyed this book but I would not recommend it to many other people. It tells the story of one man’s life from 11 years old to beyond 70 years. Critical readers say that nothing happens in this man’s life but his life is very similar to the lives of pretty much everyone I know, including me. There are some personally dramatic moments that create ripples that last for decades, and for generations. The events of the larger human world also impact the man’s life, creating their own consequences, as they do for most of us. The lessons learned and the reflections are  well written and thought out. The several pages dealing with loss and grief are extremely well written. A fine book. I may well read it more than once. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Pedophilia

Minor: Dementia

andrewspink's review

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

This is a beautifully written book, phrases like "his private labyrinth of cold sorrow" are exquisite. "Her life had been one long receding tide. As it withdrew it left behind random pools of stranded memory". What a metaphor! That literary acrobatics makes up for it being rather ponderous in places.

The book is filled with literary references, several to James Joyce, and a whole lot of poetry, much of which I don't know. As another reviewer on Storygraph commented, that can make the reader feel a bit stupid, but on the other hand it does add depth and if it does happen to be a book that you've read then it can deepen the reading experience (even more so if you can actually remember what that book was about!). There are some parts where I think I spotted a reference, but I'm not sure.  "No one could conceive a book of such ambition and execution in that house. Unless she was alone there". Is that a reference to A room of my own (Virginia Woolf), or is that my imagination? It does give an added dimension. 

Roland Baines (and Ian McEwan) are about 15 years older than me. Seeing I grew up in England, that meant that there was a lot in this book that was very recognisable to me. I had a music teacher who used to hit our knuckles with a 12-inch ruler if I played a wrong note. Bizarre and very counterproductive, but fortunately that was where the resemblance with Miriam Cornell ends. Many of the political milestones that he mentions were also the soundtrack to my growing up, even if I didn't have the luxury of a private jet to Berlin but had to watch it, amazed, on the television. Eskdale is a favourite place in the Lake District.  I remember when the Chernobyl rain cloud came over. I was doing field work in the Welsh mountains and stood in that rain all day. It was forbidden to eat the meat of the sheep that stood in that same rain, next to us. They were all given bright orange paint splashes on their flanks, thankfully we didn't have to undergo that.

It is a long book at almost 500 pages. I was sorry when I got to the end. That says a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia

schorlett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, War, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Dementia, Pregnancy, Addiction, Grief, Cancer, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion and Transphobia

brianreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia

bridgetkay's review against another edition

reflective slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

I wanted more from this book - and by more, I certainly don’t mean words or pages. From the blurb I was expecting some skilful weaving of a person’s life with the background of major world events. But I was not compelled to continue reading, and found myself quickly wanting to get this book over and done with. Some parts were enjoyable, but with the amount of different huge issues that were attempted, I didn’t feel like any were done justice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Mental illness, War, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Death of parent, Classism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship