Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Паперовий палац by Miranda Cowley Heller

185 reviews

georgie_mb's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I feel really mixed about this. Maybe this is more of a 2.75 than a 3…

Let’s start with the positives: the descriptions are truly beautiful, and that honestly was a whole star in my rrating system. I could see The Paper Palace and it’s surrounding, it was a very sensory experience. 
For some reason (and I don’t really know why), I got more into this in the second half than the first, and I’m wondering whether it was because I settled into the banter of the family. Possibly because it reminded me slightly of my own…

I do have some issues with it though. Firstly I don’t think it helped that the Audible narrator sounded like the female US Siri which made some of it come across as very cold. But I think even looking past that, some parts really lacked emotion, and almost came across as harsh. I found this particularly hard to swallow when it come to the really disturbing parts, so much so I had to skip forward sometimes. 

I also found the storyline lacked purpose. I think with the beginning it set it up to be a completely different book to what it turned out to be, and I was left slightly disappointed by that. There just didn’t seem to be any clear direction, regardless of the varying time lines. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol

jess05x's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Infidelity

brett311's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Cancer and Death

sunshine_2's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I had not read a book for myself for a while before randomly picking this up at the library. It was an alright jump back into reading novels; it’s an interesting story that also has highly descriptive imagery for the beautiful setting. However, it didn’t entirely grip me as I didn’t find myself rooting for the prominent love story. A large amount of characters were introduced throughout the story, and it was confusing at times to keep track of everybody. Additionally, there were multiple points depicting upsetting acts that I was not expecting. The ending is obscure and is left to the reader’s interpretation. Overall, it was okay, but I’m not sure I would recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

bellarosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

ellljayyy's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

isabezza's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

I was recommended this book as "one to read in the sun" by a close friend who shares my interest in emotional, reflective reads. Miranda Cowley Heller writes a powerful monologue on motherhood and living with multiple forms of trauma. This novel is a difficult read, but one which inspires the importance of the people around us, and encourages us to question who we love and what we would do for them. 

Knowledge can be power, but it can also be poison. 

There is no such thing as unforgivable between people who love each other. But even as I'm thinking it, I know it's not really true. 

Although the ending of this book was a little underwhelming, this captures the nature of this book, demonstrating that whatever we do (or do not do), life continues. Set in a cycle of summers and the Paper Palace, we follow our protagonist as she describes her family, their flaws and losses; as she reflects on her traumatic past. 

I wonder if he would love me if he could see inside my head - the pettiness, the dirty linen of my thoughts, the terrible things I have done. 

 
I did not find this book as gripping, powerful, or 'lifechanging' as I had hoped, but would recommend to someone who enjoys a similar writing style. 

The passage of time bought only a messy tangle of branches, marking my failure to heal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

kaitsbooked's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Rape

Minor: Cancer

beatriks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This book is great, a family story, mysterious, dark, light, beautifully written, great twists, good jumps in timelines, overall great storytelling.

A great story about the sh*t women have to deal with in this world built by weak and violent men. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, and Alcohol

daniela_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

Please read trigger warning before picking this book up.

There's a theme of sexual abuse throughout the book, and it's quite confronting. What fell short for me is my inability to actually like any of the characters, which is upsetting. Nevertheless, i still didn't mind the read, I just felt frustrated. And....., maybe that's the point. It's complex.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment