Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Cement Garden

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

9 reviews

bigpcanread's review

2.0

dark sad 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

i think I enjoyed the way in which the book tackled grief via Jack becoming even more of a gross "thing", Julie taking charge and Tom slowly reverting to infancy. I actually liked the metaphor of a cement garden and how it was an attempt from their father to take control of something in the house (despite how unhealthy) even though ultimately unsuccessful physically or metaphorically and I suppose that being the same thing that encapsulated their mother is indicative of his lasting affects of the family despite him never really being mentioned again

I wasn't a fan of the incest at all and I thought it reduced the character of Julie to just a sex object for Jack which ig is the point(?), either way didn't like its inclusion and almost put the book down after its first instance in PAGE 3 or smt. Derek and sue were by far the least developed with the latter playing no major role in the book and the former was just boring to read, the whole Mr and Mrs O storybeat went nowhere and was I assume just an attempt to pad out the threat Derek posed. Derek only calling the cops once he saw the incest is kinda crazy especially considering him becoming an accessory to the crime l, though now I think abt it maybe that was Julie's idea idk
EITHER WAY KINDA MID IMO

Content Warnings

inkstainedlife's review

0.25

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow, I HATED this book.

Content Warnings

pllylzbth's review against another edition

3.0

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

skeletoncloset's review

3.5

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

I was expecting the book to cover more of " traditional roles" through the child's perspective. I was more intrigued by the youngest sibling on how you physically see how he is coping with everything going on around him.

Content Warnings

greenan26's review

2.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

natebaima's review

4.25

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

natalie3's review

3.0

challenging dark medium-paced

Content Warnings

la_karina1818's review

1.5

challenging dark 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

Throughout the whole novel, there is a particular creepy tone as you go along reading it, telling the story of these children hit by the death of their two parents and living by themselves. There was a sense of uneasiness even in the beginning as the entire family is quite isolated from society and hence when their parents die, the children only have themselves to rely on. The point of view of the story told from Jack, the oldest son, shows how isolated he is because he only talks about his family, having no hobbies or people outside of his home that interest him. This brings forward the strange things that the children do. From Julie and Jack playing doctor with Suzie (examining her private parts) and Jack later on masturbating to it, Tommy dressing up as a girl, having to bury their mother twice (the second time because the smell of her rotten corpse began to be noticed) and the sex between Jack and Julie
, they all play part in the fact that these children's home life even before the events of the book has been poor, with the father appearing as abusive and the mother being too sick to be able to take care of the basic needs of her children, let alone their psychological or emotional needs. The whole purpose of this novel is to express the danger of letting children rule over themselves in a world where they haven't been socialized properly and how due to their disturbed sense of normality they may not be able to fit in with normal society. Overall I don't have a lot of thoughts over the book itself, I found it to be something that was just written as it is, it doesn't hold a special purpose or message to me but it is still pretty disturbing.

Content Warnings

ashley_elizabeth's review against another edition

1.5

challenging dark tense 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

Wow. This was.... something. I knew the subject matter would make for a challenging story, but this was far beyond what I expected. The main character, Jack, is not necessarily flat but I certainly found it hard to feel any empathy or compassion for what he & his siblings are going through. I honestly didn't feel much for any of the characters, which as a mental health professional feels like quite a strange place to be. The story gave me flavors of We Have Always Lived in the Castle with its isolationism and insulation, and The Wasp Factory in its coldness and apathetic narrators.
The only reason I feel compelled to give this book more than 0 or 1 star is because that despite it's icky-ness, there were certainly times I felt quite compelled by the overall storyline and what was going on in this family. Also, I loved McEwan's Atonement, so perhaps I'm being a bit generous.

Content Warnings

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