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merries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I, like many others, wish the other sisters were as fleshed out as Lux. It’s clear that she is the sister at the forefront of the narrator’s infatuation, but a lack of development for Mary, Therese, and Bonnie made it hard for me to distinguish the behaviours of the three, almost-forgotten sisters. Cecilia was given more detail as she was the catalyst, and Lux as she was the centre of the narrator’s lust for the sisters.
Speaking of the narrator, the recalling of events and explanations are very description-heavy, which is not my preference. As a result, I felt lost in the concrete events due to the obsession over the abstract. I feel like a lot of this could have been left out of the book, in favour for developing characters who are meant to be the centre of the story.
However, there were a lot of positives to this book: I devoured this book rather quickly, feeling a need to read on to get to the breaking point of the Lisbon sisters. While that seems a cruel statement, the narrator had explicitly stated multiple times exactly how the sisters died - but not what caused it, and it was that which intrigued me the most.
I felt like Mr and Mrs Lisbon were arguably the most complex characters in the book - we never experienced a true exploration into why they were so cruel, and why they restricted the actions of their daughters. They were enjoyable to question, and provided another level of intrigue as I read.
Overall, this was the book that ended my reading slump of Summer 22, and while it was a book I enjoyed on the whole, I do have my qualms with the details.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Medical content
grboph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Classism, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Cursing and Toxic relationship
nenya's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
(Oh also: there is the mention of the N-word which really threw me off, as well as casual racism and other problematic themes that were normalized in the novel and not addressed or seen as problematic by the narrators)
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Child death, Alcohol, Medical content, Gore, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Pregnancy, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
hmorawska's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood and Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
The writing itself is good, but that’s about the only redeeming quality to this book. The rest is just men being… well, men. I get what the author wanted to achieve with this, but why it needed to be written in this way is beyond me.
I keep hoping the next “classic” I read is going to be better, and I keep being disappointed because those “classics” were written by allocishet white men in a time women were seen as little more than property.
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Confinement, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Drug use, Pedophilia, Vomit, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Infidelity
coriblake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Grief, Pedophilia, Suicide, Child death, Confinement, Death, Stalking, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Addiction
abrasieve's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicide
Moderate: Medical content
cepbreed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Stalking, and Suicide
zoe_elizabethxx'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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Death, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Blood
maryxdarko's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Grief, and Suicide