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tiepilot_dandy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
smreads24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic relationship
sannesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Normally, I love beautiful writing and vivid discriptions, but here there was simply too many of them all. I found myself scanning a lot of the discriptions just to get to 'the interesting' parts. I also was quite dissapointed about the tiger portion. I loved reading the interraction between the tiger and Lucrezia and wished there would have been more of it. Especially since the tiger is on the cover, you would expect it to be a larger part of the story line.
I liked the ending of the book and I liked the dual time lines.
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness
laurareadsbig's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Murder
kristinamj's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Ableism, Misogyny, Animal death, Classism, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
dexkit10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Death, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Domestic abuse
merrynthomas's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, and Physical abuse
Minor: Infertility
amyvl93's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
This novel tells the story of Lucrezia, a daughter of the house of de Medici in Florence, who is married off to the Duke of Ferrara at the age of fifteen - and becomes convinced that her husband is going to murder her. This is in part based on historical sources, whilst Lucrezia's death is thought to be caused by TB, there were many rumours that she was killed. Her story was also immortalised in Browning's poem 'My Last Duchess'.
Whilst there is certainly intrigue here, I think what fell down for this novel is that part of its tragedy - Lucrezia's very young age at her death - means that there isn't a great deal for the book to focus on. We get a very slow burn of her young years growing up with her wider family in Florence, where she is deemed the black sheep of the family. Like Hamnet, it is clear that O'Farrell really immersed herself in the historical context of this story, but it was a slow read for the first two thirds. Once Lucrezia enters her marriage to Alfonso there is definitely more to go at, and I found O'Farrell's writing of a claustrophobic, controlling relationship to be very effective, but it takes a long time to get there.
Overall, this novel made me feel like it would have been a great short story but the content felt overstretched.
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy