Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

8 reviews

chrystal_rose's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I’ve just finished and my mind is all over the place. I am sad, it is a bittersweet ending. I mourn for the women of this story and the real life women they were based on. In saying that I think it is worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Grief

Minor: Murder, Rape, Infertility, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

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

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Confinement, and Death

tessa_samuels's review

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I could not put this book down, it was an absolute page turner. The writing was riveting and beautiful. It captivated so much emotion and information. The book flowed like very few books I’ve ever read. Content warning: animal abuse, sexual violence, emotional and physical abuse. There were huge sections of this book I had to skip. Because it was too dark. There was an entire chapter about a tiger, and an animal menagerie that I had to skip. And I would definitely proceed with caution when reading this book. But I thought it was brilliant and absolutely loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Murder

cadybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: War, Animal death, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Blood

cstein's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A gripping examination of a tragic social order.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Violence, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gore, Body shaming, Classism, and Miscarriage

jackbifrost's review against another edition

reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Animal death, Violence, Infidelity, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: War and Death of parent

skyfluff8's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment