Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Nő a sötétben by Elena Ferrante

9 reviews

rokinjaguar's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

3.5

I’m torn because this was well-written and discusses some interesting stuff, but also it doesn’t seem to say much at all other than some women are sad and desperately need to work on their own issues, but choose to make it everyone else’s problem instead. I didn’t feel like I gained anything of value in this book, and instead just spent time with a bunch of miserable, selfish people for a while. :/
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yennsciri's review against another edition

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

4.25

the complexities of motherhood. the horror of feeling trapped in a role you probably never should have been put it, and the horror of knowing you can be nothing else. the envy and loathing for other mothers who are "better" than you at motherhood. the way that motherhood steals personhood. fantastic.
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jaiari12's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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twoheadedcalf_nev's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense 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

3.5

i enjoyed the structure and the writing style of the book but i did not particularly enjoy the main character -- or any of the characters, really -- nor the development of her thought process. maybe i'm simply not used to reading books in first person anymore, but i was unable to take anything she said at face-value: she sounded either delusional or self-serving. 

the way she thinks and talks about her daughters,  the way she goes back and forth on her opinions on them, was very upsetting. which i would like to think is the point of the book and that's why i rate it 3.5 stars. 

however, if the intention was to make readers empathize with the complications of motherhood, it did not succeed for me -- it only made me think the main character is an abusive middle-aged woman going back and forth between a superiority complex and self-recrimination.
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cady_sass's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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

3.75

It’s difficult for me to fairly rate this book because I inadvertently watched the film before reading, not realizing it had been a novel first, when I prefer to & always try to read the original work before watching any film. I feel that if I hadn’t watched the movie first I would’ve rated this lower. I was able to invision these characters, who were quite brilliantly portrayed in the movie, and to fill in gaps in description and prose that this translation leaves to be desired. I’m sure that the original Spanish is closer to what I would’ve expected going into this- a painful, cringe inducing, car-crash of a situation between a brilliant but cold academic woman who abandoned her children at a young age to pursue self identity and a young mother struggling with her own daughter and identity. It’s quite remarkable at its core but the English prose (again, I assume due to the translation, which is ironic because the protagonist is a translator by trade) is dry and abrupt.  
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andratalpi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.5

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yocatsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging 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

2.5

It definitely kept me hooked, but by the end I realised there wasn't an awful lot I liked about this book. I do want to read more books by Ferrante as I think her style is very strong and unique!
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ekg's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • 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

4.75

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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