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abbiwesner's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
kaylo88's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
This book might have had mixed reviews, but personally, I found it a great read. The plot was clever, it was extremely well written and the characters were mostly well-rounded, though I did find myself wishing that some of the female characters had been given more in-depth backstories.
The story centers around a man who, along with his daughter and a male acquaintance, establishes a radical new school for girls. The idea behind the school is to teach girls the same way as boys. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly, but soon the girls begin to fall ill, and strange things begin to happen at the same time as red birds start nesting at the school.
I must admit that I found the male characters to be utterly despicable. Samuel, the father and mastermind behind the school, starts off with good intentions, but as soon as things start to go wrong, he abandons the idea of women being just as capable as men. It's disheartening to see how quickly he reverts to old-fashioned ideas about women's capabilities. And it probably makes him even worse than his contemporaries since he is such a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, the book is a sobering reminder that the medical community has a long history of downplaying women's symptoms and dismissing their concerns. While the book is a work of fiction, it's clear that the themes it explores are still relevant today.
My only gripe with the book is that I found the ending to be somewhat unsatisfying. While I can't put my finger on exactly what I was hoping for, I felt like there were too many loose ends left untied. It left me wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way.
The story centers around a man who, along with his daughter and a male acquaintance, establishes a radical new school for girls. The idea behind the school is to teach girls the same way as boys. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly, but soon the girls begin to fall ill, and strange things begin to happen at the same time as red birds start nesting at the school.
I must admit that I found the male characters to be utterly despicable. Samuel, the father and mastermind behind the school, starts off with good intentions, but as soon as things start to go wrong, he abandons the idea of women being just as capable as men. It's disheartening to see how quickly he reverts to old-fashioned ideas about women's capabilities. And it probably makes him even worse than his contemporaries since he is such a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, the book is a sobering reminder that the medical community has a long history of downplaying women's symptoms and dismissing their concerns. While the book is a work of fiction, it's clear that the themes it explores are still relevant today.
My only gripe with the book is that I found the ending to be somewhat unsatisfying. While I can't put my finger on exactly what I was hoping for, I felt like there were too many loose ends left untied. It left me wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Misogyny
mandi_lea's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Self harm
rachaelwho's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The ending was like a Midwestern goodbye, I kept thinking it was over and then another hour passed... Major pacing weirdness and just... Didn't stick any landings. Too much and not enough going on. Not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
aduqu's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was okay. It was slow paced, and boring at times. But it did have interesting things to say. All in all, a mediocre read with a few insightful moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Self harm
Minor: War and Suicide
m_lof's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Suicide
_inge_'s review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
leitmotiffs's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.25
I'm hiding the review under spoilers, but please check out the content warnings! If those are triggering to you, definitely do NOT read this book. No other review I've found on this site discusses their presence in the novel.
Good concept. Could've been carried out without sexually abusing 9 out of the 10 female characters found in the book in the span of 2 chapters. What really pissess me of is that the abuse happens in the last third of the book (my e-reader said I was about 76% done with it at that point), is described in pretty graphic ways, and you get no foreshadowing or subtle warning before you get there. The author could have depicted misogyny in the era at the time by discussing the social limitations the students, Catherine and Sophia suffer and face in their lives, as well as how even the greatest men with the noblest intentions keep dismissing their ideas and asking them to shut up when they speak their minds. It would have been just as effective and much less traumatic.
And, before you think I'm a prude, I literally wrote my graduate thesis on Nabokov's Lolita and how the story has been adapted to the big screen. I've read about the topic, and I have no issue with it if the book makes it explicit that it's going to deal with it, and if it serves a purpose that could not be accomplished any other way. Lolita is a story where the very synopsis warns you that it's about sexual abuse, and gives you the choice to opt out of such a story. This book does not. This book uses sexual assault as a plot device, not as a plot. Fuck this book.
Good concept. Could've been carried out without sexually abusing 9 out of the 10 female characters found in the book in the span of 2 chapters. What really pissess me of is that the abuse happens in the last third of the book (my e-reader said I was about 76% done with it at that point), is described in pretty graphic ways, and you get no foreshadowing or subtle warning before you get there. The author could have depicted misogyny in the era at the time by discussing the social limitations the students, Catherine and Sophia suffer and face in their lives, as well as how even the greatest men with the noblest intentions keep dismissing their ideas and asking them to shut up when they speak their minds. It would have been just as effective and much less traumatic.
And, before you think I'm a prude, I literally wrote my graduate thesis on Nabokov's Lolita and how the story has been adapted to the big screen. I've read about the topic, and I have no issue with it if the book makes it explicit that it's going to deal with it, and if it serves a purpose that could not be accomplished any other way. Lolita is a story where the very synopsis warns you that it's about sexual abuse, and gives you the choice to opt out of such a story. This book does not. This book uses sexual assault as a plot device, not as a plot. Fuck this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Rape
panikos's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think the premise was better than the execution on this one, but given how scathing some of the reviews were, I expected it to be worse. The story is frustratingly slow and very obscure in places, but there were still a lot of things I appreciated about it. None of the characters were especially likeable, but I do think they were well drawn. Caroline's passivity was often irritating, but it was at least believable - I could understand why somebody raised in her circumstances would act like that. Her development was the most enjoyable part of the novel - she had a realistic, satisfying arc, even if it wasn't very grand.
I also liked the difficult relationship she had with her father, who was similarly well-characterised. A lot of feminist books portray sexist men in a flat, caricatured way, but Samuel's attitude to women was more nuanced and real, in that he believes strongly in the capabilities of women in theory, but turns quietly hostile when real women challenge him as equals. He didn't feel wholly bad or good, and I liked that.
Richard wasn't an especially interesting character, but I think that was partly intentional, given that Caroline was constantly idolising him into somebody he wasn't. Nevertheless, it did make the romantic tension between them - no small part of the novel - quite tiresome to read about. I was never enthralled by this book, never had to fight to put it down. I like slow-paced character-driven stories, but this book takes a long time to get going and the stakes are always very quiet. Coupled with characters which are not especially interesting, it meant it was quite a dry read.
On top of that, some of the symbolism didn't work for me. I think the theme of illness and the unknowable was borne out quite well, but the concept of the trilling hearts never felt like it came together - I never had a sense of what they were supposed to represent. Despite being such a prominent motif, the story could've progressed in exactly the same way without them, which didn't satisfy me.
I don't think this is a bad book at all, but I wish it had had more energy and more compelling characters. The novel feels accomplished in a clinical way - there's a great deal that's good about it, but it just didn't get under my skin.
I also liked the difficult relationship she had with her father, who was similarly well-characterised. A lot of feminist books portray sexist men in a flat, caricatured way, but Samuel's attitude to women was more nuanced and real, in that he believes strongly in the capabilities of women in theory, but turns quietly hostile when real women challenge him as equals. He didn't feel wholly bad or good, and I liked that.
Richard wasn't an especially interesting character, but I think that was partly intentional, given that Caroline was constantly idolising him into somebody he wasn't. Nevertheless, it did make the romantic tension between them - no small part of the novel - quite tiresome to read about. I was never enthralled by this book, never had to fight to put it down. I like slow-paced character-driven stories, but this book takes a long time to get going and the stakes are always very quiet. Coupled with characters which are not especially interesting, it meant it was quite a dry read.
On top of that, some of the symbolism didn't work for me. I think the theme of illness and the unknowable was borne out quite well, but the concept of the trilling hearts never felt like it came together - I never had a sense of what they were supposed to represent. Despite being such a prominent motif, the story could've progressed in exactly the same way without them, which didn't satisfy me.
I don't think this is a bad book at all, but I wish it had had more energy and more compelling characters. The novel feels accomplished in a clinical way - there's a great deal that's good about it, but it just didn't get under my skin.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
kalayk's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual violence, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Eating disorder