Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Паперовий палац by Miranda Cowley Heller

33 reviews

flakeyreader123's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

Whilst getting through the book room longer than anticipated, I really enjoyed the experience of it- it’s always a good sign when you aren’t checking page numbers whilst reading. The content was challenging in a number of ways, and I’m not sure what to make of the ending just yet- it feels like it needs time to reflect and percolate on. Immediate thoughts were that the ending felt a little disappointing, but in many ways I can also see how I would have felt that way if any different version of the ending had arisen (trying to avoid spoilers!)

The writing was a pleasure to read, and I particularly enjoyed the warm representation of familial love and relationships within the immediate family, with its ups and downs, whilst illustrating how trying to care for family could affect your decision making in an attempt to protect them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

kelseyr713's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.5

Couldn't put this down! The writing is lyrical and the author's ability to portray place is impeccable. I really cared about Elle and enjoyed the dual timelines. The only thing that would have made this better for me was an epilogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcohol

Childhood sexual abuse

ju_harue's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

Eu não sabia nem do que se tratava a história, e acho que foi uma ótima opção (a menos que tenha sensibilidade a alguns gatilhos, aí recomendo procurar sobre, eu deixo no StoryGraph).
A forma como a narrativa mescla momentos intensos, com uma narrativa intimista e que me lembrou Um lugar bem longe daqui, com atmosfera bucólica e melancólica.
Ao se passar em 1 dia, mas a narrativa alterna entre passado e presente, é tão bem desenvolvida, que fica impossível largar, embora seja um calhamaço.
Um recorte de uma vida e das gerações de uma família e os acontecimentos que permeiam e refletem em atitudes, com um Palácio de Papel ao fundo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming

michelle_mc96's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, and Fatphobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol

lindaahogannxo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Minor: Alcohol

kristinj1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

I went back and forth on giving this book 5 stars, or 4.75 stars. I tore through it in three days and felt like I saw pieces of myself in the main character - and, honestly, I have no quibbles with how it was written. So I landed on 5 stars, even though I think I hated some of the story. The sexual abuse of kids by adults and by a stepbrother was really, really terrible to read. I'm glad the author didn't dwell on it in the writing in order to traumatize all of their readers, yet I am still questioning if something that clearly has such a major impact on the main character's life (not to mention her mother's before her) should have had more time devoted to it in the writing? But that becomes dangerously close to trauma porn, which would mean that's all I remember from this book. By tucking it away in our main character's mind, it also tucked it away in our mind. Still flagging there, causing an irritation whenever you went across it, still making itself known. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment

claudia_moreira's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

rwlongino's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

This would have been so much better without the explicit child sex abuse scenes. It felt like trauma porn and took away from the narrative. Would have been four stars if those scenes would have been more subtle/nuanced.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcohol

abi_sarah's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

<spoilers in this review> 

Overall I enjoyed this book for it’s immersive nature, the descriptions of the settings made it so easy to escape to the seaside with Elle and her family and follow her story intently. 

However, it took me a while to read because I wasn’t gripped by it, I was intrigued but not gripped. The urge to pick up the book was only there to carry on reading - for the escapism, not because I absolutely had to know what happened next. 

This book reminded me of the familial dramas of ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng. I am coming to realise that I really enjoy novels with imperfect families, reading about how they communicate during times of conflict and what circumstances can push familial ties to breaking point. 

Miranda Cowley Heller writes excellently about the truly awful realities of rape. Including that the perpetrator is nearly always someone the victim knows, and what’s worse - someone the victim knows well. This circumstance makes the aftermath for the victim all the more difficult to deal with. Heller describes Elle’s trauma and the way she deals with it in the most matter of fact, yet sympathetic way. Some parts of this book were honestly extremely hard to read, it all just felt so real, so painful. As the reader, I developed so much sympathy for Elle. 

When Elle finally tells her mother who the real perpetrator of her rape was, you can literally feel her release of breath through the pages. You feel her shoulders relax and her brow flatten. 

I would have given this 5 stars, but there were parts where I just wasn’t fussed one way or the other if I picked it back up to read. So it’s a 4 star for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming and Dementia

hanngigi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, and Alcohol