Reviews with content warning for Violence - My Policeman

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

52 reviews

charlottereadsthings's review against another edition

emotional sad

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? Yes

4.0

Like probably many, I came to My Policeman following on from watching the Amazon Prime adaptation.

One theme of this story that I haven't been able to shake is the devestating notion of wasted/lost time. Just the idea of "if only this thing was different then imagine what my life could have been."

My Policeman is split into two timelines: Marian talking to present day Patrick about how she met Tom and all their adventures together as a trio in the past, and Patrick's diary entries from the time. While very much infuriating, I find Marian a very complex and interesting character, so it was interesting to see those gaps from the film filled in by getting a deeper insight into her perspective of the world and the situations she finds herself in.

I wish there was more of Patrick's diaries as I found those sections the most enjoyable to read and they really hammered home how difficult it was to be LGBT at the time.

Ehat I found interesting (and something I wish I could ask the author about) is that, while Tom is central to a lot of the emotions in the story, we don't get to read his direct perspective. He seems to exist on the outskirts which I guess could be seen as feeding into how he keeps himself iscolated because of his own feelings.

This book is beautiful and definitely wort a read.

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leahhmorriss's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I first read this book after finding out Harry Styles (I’m a huge fan) was going to be playing the role of Tom. I definitely was not prepared for the rollercoaster that this book was. I absolutely bawled my eyes out for days after finishing it. It was all I could thing about.
I loved Patrick’s character so much. Tom and Marion, however, I hated. They were both incredibly selfish and just not very good people. Patrick deserved so much better.

Update - The movie destroyed me just as much as the book did. I’m actually about to start crying again just thinking about it.

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insanelyfruity's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

"You were looking at Tom without smiling, with an expression of deep absorption. You considered him, in the same way that others in the room were considering the displays."

I think the quote above sums up the relationships between the characters very well.
it took me a while to read this book because I could feel just how sad it was and that made it hard for me to read. everytime I picked up the book I was immediately engrossed and wanted to know what would happen but I had to pace out the reading for the sake of my mental peace.
this book is so gorgeously written and even though I wasn't alive in Brighton in the 50s-60s, I'm sure it's very accurate about the time period it mentions. I'm so glad that the author chose to deal with a sensitive topic like this with the proper care and respect by doing research and not romanticising terrible moments in history. the movie recently came out and I think because of all the details in the book, the book is more impactful than the movie.
I am so glad I stuck with this book. definitely would recommend.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-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

I wanted to read this book due to the upcoming film and as a Harry Styles fan, I wanted to get ahead and read the book before watching the film. I hate to say this, and it always kills me, I hope and pray that the film is better because this book was rough.

From the moment Marion first lay eyes on Tom – her best friend’s big brother, broad, blond, blue-eyed – she is smitten. And when he comes home from the National Service to be a policeman, Marion who is a newly qualified teacher is determined to win him. Unable to acknowledge the signs that something is amiss, she plunges into this marriage, sure that her love is enough for both of them. But Tom has another life, another equally overpowering claim on his affections. Patrick who is a curator at the Brighton Museum, is also besotted with his policeman, and opens Tom’s eyes to a world previously unknown to him. But in an age when those of “minority status” were condemned by society and the law, it is safer for this policeman to marry his childhood friend. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed. This book is set in 1950s in Brighton.

This book was tough. I was expecting it to be a gay love story from either Patrick’s and Tom’s point of view. Having half of the book in Marion’s point of view, wasn’t expected and dragged. I was wanting more for forbidden love story that just sort of never happen. I feel like there was too many gaps in this book. One minute Marion and Tom are children, then teenagers, then old, but then not old again. It all got very confusing. I struggled to get into this book and fell like it was one big rant. I would have loved to maybe have a few chapters from the “minor” characters like Sylvie and Michael and to hear what they thought. I would have loved some chapters from Tom’s point of view and seeing how he felt, we only know how we think he felt from Marion and Patrick’s point of view. Marion was horrible, horrible woman. She knew what she was signing up for and expected Tom to change who he was for her.

Overall, this book is not a love story or a forbidden romance. It is a brutal and a difficult read especially from what happened to Patrick whilst he was trying to live his true life. I hope to God for once they change the ending of in this book in the movie adaptation.

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ashlislibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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cat_astrophe12's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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steffan_tastic's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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laurenmakena's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book destroyed me. Seeing Tom through both Marion and Patrick's eyes and the differences in both Tom's actions/personality and the depth of each relationship was both beautiful and tragic. (Also the movie, while leaving a lot of important parts of the book out, was really good and portrayed the internal struggles that Tom, and honestly all of the characters, faced throughout this story).

I don't understand why the author chose to have Marion be the main narrator for most of the time. The chapters of Patrick's diary were the most compelling part of the story and showed the only insight into the struggles that LGBT faced at that time.

I highly recommend this story if you want to be sad though.

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msennflinn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I don't know how to feel about this one, but it's not a good feeling. I knew going into it that this book was not written from a queer perspective, as in the author is a cisgender, straight woman. I went for it anyway, to see what all the hullabaloo was about. While the writing is done well, the actual story sucks. A cis, straight woman writing a tragedy about two queer men and one horrible, awful woman does not stand the test of time. Plenty of other people on here have said it better, but the lack of an OWN voice is on full display in this book. I fear that many people are flocking to this book ten years after its publishing date (and I suppose because it wasn't on US shelves until 2021) because of the movie, starring Harry Styles. While I can appreciate people finding and reading a book after it's been optioned for or made into a movie, the high marks people are giving this one is shocking.

Non-queer authors: please stop writing about queer characters in this way. Better yet, leave it to LGBTQ+ folks to tell these stories.

Content Warnings

whenlohaz's review against another edition

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emotional 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

This book is incredibly well written. The difference in writing style between the characters, the depth with which they are built is incredible.

I don’t think I have ever hated a book character more in my entire life. Marion is so incredibly selfish - and the author does such a good job at introducing this fatal flaw from the beginning, and it slowly builds up until the very end.

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