Reviews

Trouble the Living: A Novel by Francesca McDonnell Capossela

ananascanread's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

beatlejr's review against another edition

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

2.5

taywu91's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

m_elissa_m's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

kkm0112's review

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3.75

3.75/5. Generally good and a good structure. Only small quibble is that it seemed like they were trying to get SO many plot points in - I almost wish 1 or 2 had been dropped so we could dive deeper on other ones.

bellsb00ksandwritings's review

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4.0

Trouble the Living is a good book. For some reason, I can't seem to add much after this sentence because it's just true. It is a good book. There is no but, and I can't think of a better word to describe it.

Some of my thoughts while/after reading:

- Writing style. This was perfect for me. The chapters weren't too long, and there wasn't too much description, but enough to get a clear image of what was happening.

- Dual timeline. At first, I liked the present more than the past, but later on, I enjoyed both as much.

- Characters. I didn’t have a favorite, but I enjoyed reading about both women. They made some questionable decisions (some I would have made myself under the circumstances, others probably not), but I could understand where they were coming from most of the time.

- History. I learned quite a bit about the historical events. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know much about the events in Ireland at all when I started reading, and it's always good to learn.

Many thanks to Pride Book Tours and the author for the paperback in exchange for an honest review ✨

emily2348's review against another edition

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4.0

loving historical fiction lately, and this was so well written.

rywalker's review

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

villanellemp3's review

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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

4.5

britkbrown's review

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5.0

I couldn’t put this book down. Dual-timelines can be tricky to execute well, and the author did an incredible job with this here. I was completely absorbed and engaged with each character and point in time. The nuanced depiction of the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, and grief in many forms was poignant and impactful. I will be reflecting on this story for a long time.