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nkmustdie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Racism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pedophilia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Outing, Murder, Medical content, Infidelity, Hate crime, and Death
phlegmfatale's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was a difficult book in a lot of ways. The narrator is a rich and privileged grandson of a Lord, and the setting is - I think early 80s? Just before the AIDS epidemic, but post-Sexual Offences Act, and close enough to pre-legalisation of gay sex for many characters to have been impacted in some way. It deals with race and class, mostly from the (sympathetic, but slightly fetishising) perspective of rich white men, which I found quite unsettling at times, but the portrayal of the layers of racism and homophobia in 1980s Britain is stark and well-crafted. This book is at times sweetly romantic and serious and sad and wistful, but at other times kind of lurid and hyper-charged and melodramatic. And there are many, many graphic descriptions of sex. I liked it - the writing is beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Rape, and Racial slurs
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