Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

9 reviews

kangaroo1990's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, Murder, and Confinement

Moderate: Bullying

ruthjenkins's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual content, and Bullying

jhbandcats's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

An intriguing look at the court of one of the royal fiefdoms of Italy in the Renaissance, this novel of a teenage girl’s ill-fated marriage just didn’t grab me. The writing was beautiful and the details richly described, but the story felt flat and bloodless. 

Despite the book being told from Lucrezia’s perspective, I never felt I got to know her. We learn of her lonely childhood with emotionally distant parents and siblings, her compulsion to paint the natural world around her, her increasing isolation and desperation, but she remained unknowable. The husband and his consiglieri are stock villains, the latter especially so. The loving and helpful maid was another stock character. 

That said, the scholarship is so exemplary that I found the novel more than worthwhile. I enjoyed learning about Renaissance Italy - Lucrezia was born two years before the death of England’s Henry VIII but the world of Florence and Ferrara seemed quite different from London. I confess I prefer Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy to this. 

Everyone says Hamnet is fabulous so I’ll have to try it, just not right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Abandonment, Death, Eating disorder, Animal death, Murder, Confinement, Infertility, Misogyny, Violence, and Vomit

merrynthomas's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, and Physical abuse

Minor: Infertility

aseel_reads's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

The author is very capable of writing a captivating story but I felt that the ending just missed the mark of delivering a blow to the emotions. I liked the choice of subject, I haven't read much historical fiction in this time period but at times, it was overly descriptive and I was just skimming it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

Minor: Violence, Bullying, Miscarriage, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

atamano's review

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Sexual content, Child death, Bullying, and Confinement

Minor: Vomit

loveallthis's review

adventurous dark tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Rape, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Infertility

Moderate: Death of parent

holodrum's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Bullying, Violence, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual violence

ninjamuse's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Rape, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Violence, Pregnancy, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Child death