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lesbegays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
i never would have read this if not for it being a book club pick, but i don’t regret it.
MAJOR content warning for societal homophobia of the sort you would expect from a puritan nation in the 1600s.
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Animal death, Outing, Pregnancy, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Confinement, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Slavery, and Colonisation
nickymikwoo's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Homophobia
moogblue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Blood, Suicide attempt, Outing, Murder, Abortion, Slavery, Rape, Sexism, and Death
nicnocs511's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, and Racism
esjackson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Outing, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Misogyny
flordemaga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I do wish we knew more about the miniaturist themself. Their inclusion in the story brings tension and mystery so it feels unfortunate that it’s left as a loose end. But given the resolution of other things, I’m not that mad about it.
Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, and Death
_sara_j's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
odds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is an incredibly well-crafted story about secrets, with a perfect historical setting to clash with the ideas of personal freedom and choice - in Amsterdam - "Where the pendulum swings from God to a guilder". People must live as they're supposed to - observed, like clockwork, all playing a well-oiled part in society. Absences are noted, money powers everything. Entirely deliberate then, I imagine, (small spoiler) that "The Miniaturist" whose presence seems to throw so many lives into turmoil was apprenticed to a clockmaker. It's about appearance warring with desire and reality, the lies and secrets that even the most pious seeming people tell and keep. Mostly a cast of women, it also involves a great deal of frustration at their various places and overall powerlessness in society. You form an opinion of each person, then have it altered by their actions before the end.
It has a sense of mystery which propels a reader through the story. I guessed a couple of the twists, but there are always more to come. You think you've worked something out, but it's a distraction. It's fantastic to read a story that features the figure of a "prophet", when the characters and reader both are often unable to see the warnings until events have already passed.
In short, I thought it was exceptional!
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Racism
danikajoan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal death, Homophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Pregnancy, Violence, Racial slurs, Outing, Death, and Blood
nicolaparty'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? No
2.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Classism, Animal death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Sexism