Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey

8 reviews

ellianderjoy's review

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Ableism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, and War

Minor: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Car accident, and Infidelity

There are major themes of child abuse via confinement and gaslighting with scenes described in detail. Lucy's mother dies in a car accident off-page but it is described and her grief is shown in detail. Lord Lockwood is misogynistic and sexist on-page, and is described to have sexually, physically and emotionally abused multiple minor girls. There are secondhand accounts of domestic abuse and infidelity. The book is set during WWII and there is significant discussion of war and particularly the threat of air-raids and bombings. The main characters experience gaslighting on-page which leads to detailed descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks.

imyril's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A gothic f/f wartime romance isn't what I thought I'd be drawn to this week, but Jane Healey's debut is written in gorgeous, reflective prose and full of atmosphere that sucked me right in.

Full review to follow.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Pedophilia

rieviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

All in all, the book was a lot darker than I expected, it wasn't a terrilble read, it was readable enough but nothing much stood out to me, in terms of writing style or characterization. 

The writing style especially felt a little bit flat for me, I found the prose either quite plain or overdone, too much sensational. The narrative was a bit disjointed and slow-moving. At times, it felt like the descriptions dragged on and there was little else under the surface to keep you engaged. 

As the story progressed and more and more dark themes were added, it became quite a lot to digest. I think that this darkenss, paired with the really gothic setting and the supernatural undertones, made the story feel at times a little bit "too much", too melodramatic.

I admit that I'm not really keen on taxidermy so maybe it's mostly on me, but I still think that there were really too many details about the animals
that added little to the story. Especially in the final part of the book, there were way too many lists, I counted at least 5, interminable catalogues of animals and objects that really took me out of the reading experience and just annoyed me. 
 
I can appreciate the ending chosen for the main characters but the story 
and its characters did not particularly stand out to me, it was just okay. I think I came into it with too high expectations and so I was even more disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Car accident, Infidelity, War, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Miscarriage

longlost's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.5

This book was sold to me as "a ghostly, gothic love story" and you know what. That checks out. Props to the author because at no point in this Decently Long book do I feel like we're not right there in 1939 despite the book being published in 2020. It's super cool to see how some authors can immerse a reader into the past, and considering the 30s were almost 100 years ago at this point it's just incredibly cool to read a book where it feels like you're there in that time. 

The narration by both POV characters felt very genuine as women in the late 30s, and the gothic mystery elements were very well done. You do feel the tension as Hetty struggles to understand what is going on with the animals she's been charged to care for, and the strange responses from some of the people at Lockwood. Lucy is a beacon of light in this book; where every other character is dismissive and at times outright cruel, Lucy meets Hetty's concerns with kindness and empathy. 

Their romance is also lovely to read; Healey develops their connection in an incredibly heartfelt way, and you find yourself rooting for Hetty and Lucy to reach their happy ending at the book's conclusion. 

It's important to note that the book has no shortage of potentially triggering content; there are heavy themes of mental health issues that can be uncomfortable to read about, along with the end stretch of the book revealing a pedophilic relationship in a way that is very jarring and graphic. This is definitely a book to approach cautiously if you're triggered by any of the things listed in the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Rape, Infidelity, and War

Minor: Vomit

hilarylouise's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit

chardavidson's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I liked parts of this book. Certainly the exposition is entertaining, and the given circumstances are creepy. But I think the author relies on these things too much, focusing on what we already know is there, like the little beady eyes of the animals in the manor. Little beady eyes can only go so far, when you’ve mentioned them over and over. They lose their creepiness after that... and the book loses it’s subtlety. To me, this book tries too hard to be a ghost story or a gothic novel when I often felt the author leaning towards love. That’s not a surprise, as she mentions in the description a narrative of love, but with it is her promise of a gothic novel. I think she would have done better to write what she really wanted to write, some gorgeous LGBTQ+ historical fiction.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Sexism

emmaward55's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Vomit and Miscarriage

Regarding all sexual violence:

neither of the two narrators are in any way harmed. The detailed descriptions are dialogue given by a third character.

Regarding the non-sexual child abuse:

Lucy (and Hetty to some degree) spends a fair bit of time detailing the neglect and mistreatment from parents. None of it is sexual or physical. Lucy is gaslit and locked in dark rooms. Hetty receives verbal abuse.

In general there's period-typical sexism, but Hetty is also gaslit throughout the book. Although the book features a homosexual relationship, the two women do not face any violence or repercussions for their love.

lindsayreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, and Toxic relationship