Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

15 reviews

jenwool's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

The use of unreliable first-person narrator is masterful. The narration builds the story in a way that draws you in and paints a raw picture of the setting of London, and out in the country where the middle portion takes place. In spite of myself I was strung along for the ride, brought to each emotion that Waters intended me to feel as I went along. In spite of myself and my first impressions of them, I fell in love with both Susan and Maud.

The twists were crafted beautifully, with enough poeticism and foreshadowing that an attentive reader could catch on, but several of them took me by surprise even still.

Spoilers in the Content Warnings but very serious Content Warnings for this book, please take heed.

CW for child abuse, animal abuse, violence against women, the treatment of mental illness in victorian england, casual racism against rromani, and the implication of sexual thoughts about young girls. There is not any actual sexual assault, but it is very creepy. All of these save for the use of g**** referring to rromani are treated as the horrible things they are by the narrative.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Racial slurs

4ntula's review

mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty

elinthenilsson's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexism, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child death, and Trafficking

Minor: Religious bigotry

sofipitch's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I watched the Handmaiden (2016) first and so I thought I knew the plot going into this book. But nope, I was still enraptured with this book and was shocked by all the twists and turns it took.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Animal cruelty and Racial slurs