Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Majesties

In The Majesties, Tiffany Tsao opens with a bold and vivid scene portraying a mass poisoning of an entire wealthy Chinese-Indonesian family, over 300 people. Gwendalyn, the sister of the poisoner and the only survivor, lies in a coma trying to understand why her sister and best friend, Estella, would have done such a thing. What follows is not so much of a thriller as a peeling back of layer upon layer of family secrets, each more disturbing than the one before. We travel back through Gwendalyn's memories and throughout the world searching for the answer to 'why did she do it?'. Though the beginning and the end read like a psychological thriller, the middle reads more like a wealthy family drama, perfect for armchair travelers like myself.

I loved this book and I absolutely adore Tsaos writing style. As with 'The Remains of the Day', it is quite slow paced and you begin to wonder how much you can really trust the main characters observations and opinions. If you read it slowly, you can see the parallels between sisterhood and dual worlds, between the beautiful insects she preserves and the daughters themselves, constantly on display, yet trapped and held immobile. Tsao expertly addresses issues such as racial stereotyping in different countries and gender inequality. I am sure I will reread in the future!

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sallysimply's review against another edition

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2.5

What a weird book. That opening was enough to keep me going through the first 25% or so when I was somewhat confused and not at all engaged. Then it started picking up around 40% or so. But this was a lot to get through for not much payoff.

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annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

re: the ending: ??? i mean, sure? it was a big twist that contradicted the entire narrative yet simultaneously (imo) amounted to nothing of significance; it just fell flat. the prose, oh boy. it's how i write when trying to sound smart in essays, unnecessarily florid. it had a promising concept, i was hooked just from the blurb, but it didn't live up and the entire time i wasn't all that interested.
cover design review: ★★★☆☆. intriguing at first glance, i like the yellow background and the texture and shadows of the paint strokes within the face, but other than that it's eh. this is not representative of the book i just read

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solspringsreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

UGH. Loved the beginning of this one, and I was hooked for pretty much the entirety of the book. Great premise, super comparable to We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Crazy Rich Asians, and the book really unfolds in a satisfying and interesting way.
And then we get to the big plot twist, and it just… completely lost me. It’s not that the plot twist was bad (and I even half-guessed it!) but it felt so unnecessary, like it cheapened so much of what made this book compelling and unique. Suddenly this book went from a well-crafted, layered metaphor about wealth, corruption, and family, to a schlocky thriller movie rated 64% on Rotten Tomatoes
I’ll read anything else this author puts out because I did really enjoy the majority of this book, but I’m beyond disappointed by the ending. (How can a plot twist both be predictable AND completely random? I wouldn’t have thought it possible until I read this book.)

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yunsq's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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htoomanybooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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kikicochrane's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

There's no doubt that Tsao is a talented writer, and her use of descriptive words does transport you to the scenes that Gwendolyn is recounting as she lays comatose in a hospital bed.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a slow burn and the lack of enjoying the characters for their personalities does make it feel longer than the book actually is. I agree with the other reviewer that the publisher did a disservice for this being categorized as a thriller rather than a family mystery saga.

Overall I enjoyed this read, the story came together at the end and the reason why Estella murdered her entire family became clear. I especially liked how Tsao was able to weave the story behind Bagatelle throughout the story.

Content Warning: Themes of domestic abuse primarily psychological and emotional are strong themes in this novel.

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clalaure's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

3.25

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