Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

6 reviews

erush's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.25

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thejourneys's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of my favourite books, I've re-read it about 10 times now. I love the range of characters, the difficult parts and the funny bits and the romance of course. It's a longer, more serious romance read, not for a beach read!
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beekaycee's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-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

3.0

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am__flynn's review

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slow-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

2.5

I really like Marian Keyes, but found this book very hard going for a number of reasons:
1. The writing style used for Lola's character. Was it meant to be diary style? Because if so, it didn't work. Inner narration? Didn't work. It made my eyes burn.
2. The transphobia, Jesus Christ the transphobia. Although none of the characters are actually transgender, the wilful use of a shortened term was unnecessary and gross. Yes. It was written 14 years ago, but STILL.
3. The casual racism 
4. The fact that some of these characters felt like caricatures at times. The way they justified bad behaviour - either their own, or others - often lacked credibility. Lola, in particular - she might have been head over heels about Paddy but no grown adult thinks like she did.

Overall the book got compelling enough towards the end but it was a bit of a slog. 
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emilayday's review

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adventurous dark funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I can't believe this is the same book I read 14 years ago and always randomly thought about and then I wasn't sure if it was two plot lines from the same book or two different books but I knew the cover art looked familiar when I saw this at the free library and then kept staring at it on my bookshelf. Anyway, it was great to reread the whole party about the alcoholic plotline again as someone who was then actively drinking vs now in recovery and I think Keyes really captured that storyline well.

Not that it's all a downer! There's some funny parts as well as Irish humor (US reader) and there's levity and even though it's a lot of pages, it's a face paced read. 

I will say, it's also a different landscape now than it was then when the book first came out, as such you really have to be able to take a lot of insensitivity with a grain of salt to get at the bigger picture. Definitely racism and trans/queer phobia but then maybe that's the point of that character because it was mostly through Lola's lens on those incidences hmm. Still though.
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mahamsiddiqui's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

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