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emwinters's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Eating disorder, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Physical abuse
_danicortes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Physical abuse, Self harm, Body shaming, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, Infidelity, and Suicide
_inge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
There’s a lot of characters who are introduced briefly, and this book keeps shifting back from different segments in the past to the present. Often the protagonist thinks about something else whilst she’s having a conversation with another person, for instance. She’d trail off into her thoughts for a couple pages, and those thoughts then spark new memories so she trails off further. When she does end up back in the present it often takes you by surprise. You only have chapters to go off, no further indications about the story are being given. I often didn’t know if a particular event even mattered in the present either, sometimes a thought seemed more like an interesting anecdote the main character was remembering.
This is also probably the most racist classic I’ve ever read. A black man speaks English in a caricature way, and his face is described as being like molasses. Every Chinese person in this is yellow. Chapter 10 starts with the main character describing her face as that of a ‘sick Indian’. A woman from Slovakia is a stereotype and only appears for (what is implied to be) sex, and an Italian woman mimics the main character’s mum and can’t be trusted either. Every non American, non white character is a stereotype or seen as less worthy. Obviously this was written in a different time, but that’s something to consider before reading.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Fatphobia, and Death
Minor: Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual content, Misogyny, Incest, and Eating disorder