Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion

55 reviews

amilou's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Homophobia, and Drug abuse

uuuultraviolennnnt's review

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Devoured in days. Joan Didion has a sharp pen and mind. with one clear path, she pins down the bodies of empty Americans, devoid of just — anything, and inserts a sort of magic into their persons, so as to expand them to the height of impressive marquis’, ones i love to filter through, feel the humidity pulsating off the plastic, human walls, the life inside these basic, basic bitches.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Minor: Homophobia

cillehh's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Mental illness

sarah_hutchins's review

reflective fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Mental illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Blood

Minor: Body shaming, Addiction, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use

ashley_turch's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

2.0

I think I may be too stupid for this book. I get that it reflects a depressive state quite well, but it became incredibly hard to move through about halfway through. I struggled to finish it because of how slow it was, and I couldn’t follow what was going on. I normally love books about women losing their mind, but I guess this just wasn’t for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

samarakroeger's review

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

a book that sucked me in and spat me out. loved the use of perspective in the narration, the short chapters, and the general sense of unease and desolation. it’s purposefully empty. 

didn’t love the racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, etc…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Abortion, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Drug abuse, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Car accident

bayrayj's review

dark funny reflective 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

4.5

This book had everything I hate and I loved it. The characters were selfish and sometimes their actions seemed redundant. The story was nebulous and the main character felt cold. All of these horrible things came together to help the reader understand the arid world our main character is living in. I hated Maria and I felt more connection to her than I have any main character in a long time. Her aimlessness and hopelessness doesn’t hold her back, but rather pushes her forward into a foreboding unknown. She is resigned to her nihilism but not to hopelessness. She still hopes for her child and her life, even if she doesn’t want to make it better, or want anything at all. I felt scared for her, I hated her, and then I loved her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Racism, and Homophobia

morenowagain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-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: Violence and Abortion

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Grief, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicide, Medical content, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Drug use

Minor: Car accident

mitchelljohnson's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

Joan Didion is mostly know for her non-fiction, and I think I understand why. 

The book is good. But that’s it. The content is a bit hard to stomach at points, the plot is nonexistent, but the writing is great. I liked the premise and how it was executed, but I don’t think Didion was great with fiction, or maybe it was this book in particular.

I found myself forgetting characters, because none of them are really memorable. I found myself not understanding what was happening because of how much the book jumped around. I was a bit confused. 

I might try her non-fiction, because her writing is very skillful and she really knows how to get a message across in as little words as possible. Her journalism background really shines in that aspect, but it makes it harsh to read as fiction. I would re-read sections constantly because I didn’t fully grasp one line, putting me off track.

I was disappointed, but I believe that there are points in your life where a book is more meaningful to you, so this just might not have been the right time for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Chronic illness

juicy_juice's review

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is what I believe living a Lana Del Rey song would feel like. With the detached main character reminding me of Catcher in the Rye, this novel is one to stick with you. Didion uses short prose which forces the reader to pick up on what is not being said in the dialogue. While this is not a happy read, it is sure to stick with you if you’ve ever struggled with mental illness or know you’re a bit self-destructive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Body horror, Drug use, and Sexual violence

Minor: Homophobia