Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

5 reviews

kimisjustokay's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Medical content, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal death, Classism, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

bookmaddie's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This novel explores the idea that trauma can be passed down through generations, and how someone can heal from it. Dorothy lives in the near future and struggles with crippling depression and anxiety, having tried all sorts of treatments that never live up to their sterling promises. She is recommended an experimental genetic treatment that allows the subject to experience the memories and lives of their ancestors, unlocking memories and finding ways to heal past selves. The narrative then jumps between Dorothy's perspective in the future, and those of her ancestors throughout history.

I really enjoyed the historical perspectives of the women Dorothy comes from. Ford's writing brings to life a vast array of time periods, creating engaging stories, even when we may only spend a fraction of the book with a character. However, in Dorothy's sections, I found the warmth to evaporate from the writing. It left her sections feeling lackluster in some way, and made it harder for me to connect with her story. I also found it a bit hard to understand the passage of time in Dorothy's sections. I can understand how some of these writing choices may have been made to reflect each character, but I think overall, it made for an uneven, and at times confusing, reading experience.

I also found the structure a tad repetitive. Each historical perspective ends with some sort of trauma, which makes sense due to the premise, but chapter after chapter—it felt endless. I wonder if there would have been a way to structure the story a bit differently so that each chapter felt a bit less formulaic.

This was a mixed bag for me. I think the writing wasn't strong enough to pull off such a complicated, idea. However, the idea is fascinating, and I'd be curious to see what Ford publishes in the future. Maybe I'd do better with a more straightforward (and historical?) plot.

Thanks Atria Books and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy. Sorry it took me so long to read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Terminal illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Death, and Death of parent

apworden's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

not sure I am comfortable with how Dorothy overdosing solving everyone’s problems could be interpreted by someone in a similarly stressful situation

otherwise, a beautiful book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Deportation, Pregnancy, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Death, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Colonisation

probablybadgers's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, War, Confinement, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

ottercorg's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I do not annotate works of fiction; I do not so much as underline a phrase. Until now. I found myself reaching for my pen and underlining or highlighting sentences and whole paragraphs, thinking, “this is so beautiful” or “this is so real.” 

This is my third Ford read this year, and I’ve now read each of his published works. I thought this would become my new favorite, and while it didn’t quite take the prize over Love and Other Consolation Prizes, it still has settled comfortably into second. 

Ford took a concept that fascinates him - and me as well - and ran with it. And I devoured it. It was a delight to try and track the pieces of each character that were passed on from generations before. Ford writes so beautifully I can hardly stand it. And this book is just as heart-wrenching as the rest, possibly even more so because there are a handful of “main characters” as opposed to just one. 

Well done. I don’t often reread books, but I already see myself reading this one again someday and look forward to discovering what I missed this first time around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Rape, Drug use, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol