Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

35 reviews

anna_m_k's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

A beautiful exploration of a life-long friendship between two women, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan follows Lily and her life-long friend Snow Flower from their childhood through their adulthood. It is written as a memoir by Lily after she has lived a long life and is reflecting on, and regretting, aspects of her life and relationship with Snow Flower. Meditative and emotional, it is an exploration of a deep relationship between two women as they navigate their lives and their culture across many decades.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage and Misogyny

Minor: War

cait's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Physical abuse, War, Death, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Child death, Chronic illness, Infertility, and Injury/Injury detail

vickimarie2002's review

emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

 Lisa See is one of my favorite authors! Her writing is so compelling and immersive. I felt as if I was actually growing up alongside Snow Flower and Lily. Lisa's books always allow me to see through a different time and place. Which is one of the my main joys of reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death

pattycrabby's review

informative reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence

strrygo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

:( ; ; <\3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, and Domestic abuse

mtnest's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Physical abuse, Child death, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Death, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Excrement, Suicide, Infertility, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and War

galoshes's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

I debated giving this book five stars. I liked the first third of the story that dug deep into childhood. The middle seemed to rush through life moments; at times it felt like reading a timeline rather than a story. The story is told from the perspective of the narrator as an old woman, who constantly reminds us that things will get worse. The persistent "if only I knew then how bad things would get" started to feel like a tirade. I'm not a fan of the strategy of only naming characters that are important. There are so many characters that are only named by their relation (aunt, uncle, third sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, many many more in-laws) that at first I assumed it was a strategy by the author to draw attention only to named characters, but after finishing the story I feel like the narrator simply didn't care to learn their names and this was intentional. The characters only existed in relation to her, not as individuals. The narrator is believable, relatable, and lovable, but she says and does things that seem entirely justified in the moment but are ultimately selfish and cruel.

The end of this book, and knowing the end reflecting on the rest, clawed out my worst fears about myself. I'm reading this at exactly a time in my life when I need it. I didn't love this story, at times I hated it, but it forced me to look at my own life in another perspective. The detached way the narrator thought of and treated other people, and the visceral descriptions of body horror both in foot binding and death, seemed to congeal into one horrific mass that I won't forget. I felt ugly, but also hopeful that it's not too late. Other books I've kept on my shelf because they make me happy. This one is a reminder and a warning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Domestic abuse

shelbydm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Grief, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

hanahighway's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

_n40m1_'s review

emotional informative slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Child death, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Classism, Pregnancy, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse