Reviews tagging 'Outing'

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

14 reviews

lesbegays's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

a very slow start, but it picked up a lot in the middle. the end kind of ground to a halt for me, though. the miniaturist adds an element of magical realism throughout the novel, and at the end gets pulled back down into realism while while also not being really explained. i wish that the book had either left that very open-ended and magical or given more detail, as the middle ground really doesn’t work for me. however, this was overall an interesting glimpse at a period in history i know literally nothing about. 
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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

moogblue's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

It was quite a slow start, and I found the lack of resolution of some of the mysterious elements a little disappointing but overall I did enjoy the book. The last quarter was the strongest, with a much faster plot as well as some character development. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Blood, Suicide attempt, Outing, Murder, Abortion, Slavery, Rape, Sexism, and Death

esjackson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Outing, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Misogyny

danikajoan's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

Read this during my trip to Amsterdam and really enjoyed reading it within that setting (and gasped when I saw the cabinets at the Rijksmuseum that are so similar to the ones described in the book). I like this specific “young bride, mysterious husband (mean sister)” plot, reminds me of The Mercies and Phantom Thread and so many other stories I love. I felt like the writing here lacked a little bit of focus or direction but not enough to keep me from enjoying the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal death, Homophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Pregnancy, Violence, Racial slurs, Outing, Death, and Blood

thatchickengirl23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Pregnancy, and Outing

thecozyrogue's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Animal death

Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Classism, and Outing

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Animal death, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Racial slurs, Death, Pregnancy, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Slavery, and Torture

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve tried to listen to this last year & found it dull. Fast forward and I wanted to give it another shot, but I chose to read instead of listening to the audiobook. I loved it! I could hardly put it down until I could finish. It has a slower pace, but the amount of character building … it was just phenomenal. I wish there was a “happily ever after” because I love those, but it would have been far-fetched & stretched at best.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Outing, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Excrement, Racism, Vomit, and Sexual content

Minor: Racial slurs, Torture, Abortion, Child death, Slavery, and Alcoholism

authorannafaundez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Outing

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Blood, Pregnancy, and Torture

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Having finished this book I'm not sure how I feel about it. The book had a lot of hype around it, which I am always wary of as it often drives high expectations from me that books sometimes don't live up to. But I have found myself coming to the end of the book and finding it somewhat lacking. This is a shame as historical fiction isn't a first choice of mine but this started out enjoyable and I was left with a good feel for the setting without being overburdened. The characters were interesting and you got to know them well and I got vested in their journey through the book but I felt the emotional tie to them was somehow lacking? There were a number of good twists which I didn't see coming though which I did enjoy. But I felt the character of the miniturist was never really explored. There is lots of mystery around them but it felt like that thread if the story just wasn't finished off. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Excrement, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Vomit, Abortion, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Medical trauma