Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Push by Ashley Audrain

19 reviews

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Abortion, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Dysphoria, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Body horror, Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Car accident, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Alcoholism, Confinement, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Incest, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Dementia

rchristine11's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

3.25

Interesting read. A lot going on. Although this is a thriller, I think what was most interesting about this book was the consideration given to how our parents’ actions affect who we become. But it was their parents who shaped them. The book gives nonlinear snapshot of Blythe (our narrator) interacting with her daughter Violet, Blythe recalling interactions with her mother Cecelia, and an omniscient narrator showing scenes of Etta interacting with her daughter Cecelia. Actions and habits can build generationally and it can take generations to heal from severe trauma because, although we may heal from some of our childhood trauma, the rest will be passed down to our children. And they, in turn, will heal in part but pass down what remains. The author offers no significant commentary on this - she just presents it and allows the reader to reflect and draw their own conclusions. 

Edit: as time passes, I find myself fixating on one scene that I  particularly disliked and have lowered my rating because of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, Self harm, and Abortion

Moderate: Suicide

hillarydanielle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

Will keep you guessing as to if this is simply a reflection on motherhood and the struggles many mothers go through or if this is truly a thriller.
Dragged a bit for me with the long recurring descriptions of grief and motherhood, I think I wanted more thriller aspects and maybe a bit more from the other timelines. Loved that they included the multi-generation storylines though. 

After reading that last line I wished this had been more of a thriller with more action/twists throughout. I kept waiting for something more shocking to happen in one of the mother or grandmother storylines, like Blythe actually killing her mother for example to show that these horrific murderous tendencies run through their maternal line. Overall crept under my skin and definitely kept me on edge, I hope that father wises up finally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Vomit

dramaqueentears's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

The way I BLASTED through this book. 

After ages of back and forth, Blythe and Fox finally have a baby. Their first child, Violet, is immediately loved by Fox and Blythe just can’t seem to connect with her. What Fox (along with everyone else, honestly) believes to be postpartum depression, Blythe believes is a problem with Violet. She is ultimately convinced she’s right when she has another baby, Sam, and she bonds with him immediately. When Sam dies unexpectedly, everyone believes it’s an accident but Blythe swears that Violet did it. 

What makes this such a wild ride is that throughout the story, you learn about Blythe’s family and how her mother and grandmother were raised by their mothers. You see a cycle of abuse that really makes you stop and question whether Blythe can be trusted as a narrator. It was everything I love about books: mystery, suspense, family drama. 

If I were going to take off points for anything, it would be that the plot really leaves nothing untold. It was all very predictable but I couldn’t put it down, so it’s keeping all 5 stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Car accident, Death of parent, Self harm, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Bullying

rishel's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, and Self harm

jezebelligerent's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse

caties_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

MASSIVE TW FOR CHILD/BABY VIOLENT DEATH, CHILD ABUSE, SELF HARM AND GRIEF. Can't possibly overstate how much you should not read this if you are sensitive to any of the above, they're very explicit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

linesiunderline's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Sometimes you read a book and it is very hard to land on how you feel about it. The Push is one of those books for me. It’s entirely likely my star rating will shift around the more I think about the book as time passes.

What worked:
• It’s compulsively readable. This is a book everyone says you will read in one gulp, and it is. So if you are after that kind of propulsive experience, this will do it for you.
• Audrain is a strong writer. Her prose is sharp and clear and there’s an economy to it that is satisfying.
• There are several genuinely goosebump inspiring scenes - truly creepy. I could see this translating to film or TV (and I imagine it will).
• The feeling of dread and claustrophobia is palpable. I kept thinking about The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, another book that is deeply unsettling and so hard to put down.

Howevers
• I am uncertain about what the author is trying to say. Is it that generational trauma will continue to disrupt lives unless someone is brave enough to see it and name it and initiate a process of healing? Is it that difficult, troubled children exist and that no one wants to see that even when it’s right in front of them? Is it that we need to listen to mothers, and realize that there are many ways to experience and be a mother? I feel like I was reaching for meaning and not sure if I landed where I was intended to. 
• I can’t decide if this is simply another thriller that sensationalizes a difficult female experience. Some reviews have said it shines light on difficult topics around motherhood and mental health, but I’m not sure it leaves us in a greater place of understanding or helps to break down existing stereotypes. 
• The ending definitely felt gimmicky, like the author / editor decided it would be a gasp-worthy conclusion so why not go for it.

So there you have it. One thing I can say with certainty is that this is a book you want to talk about. It’s ideal for bookclubs. And I will want to read more by the author. 

See below for a million content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

acbrandt's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, and Mental illness