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hannahbailey's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
A well written book -- the setting was particularly well crafted. I could really sense the tense and unforgiving atmosphere both of the time and in between the characters. I hope that the author made these characters deliberately unlikeable, if so, then its excellent storytelling. I'm still unsure whether this novel is a product of its time (2012 :/) or a novel ahead of its time in that it leaves you feeling conflicted. That probably doesn't make sense unless you've read the book, but Marion's actions were unexpected and pretty shocking. I didn't really sympathise her, although I felt like the narrative was perhaps asking readers to, which is why I'm unsure of the author's intent here!
This is a very sad and depressing book, do not pick this up if you're looking to read about queer joy -- you won't find it here!
Graphic: Outing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide, Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Confinement
sierrabowers's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Alcohol, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
bstar03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide, Infidelity, Sexism, Abortion, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book tells the story of Marion, Tom, & Patrick. Tom is a young police officer that Patrick and Marion are both in love with - she as his wife, and he, as his lover in a time where it was illegal to be gay in the UK. The tale unravels from Marion and Patrick's perspectives in dual timelines and as the reader you come to see that no one in this book is an innocent - they each have their pain and they each inflict pain on each other in different ways, and it's often extremely sad to read, but the humanity and messiness of these characters are what made this book so readable and engaging to me, so that was the main thing I liked about it. The writing, too, I thought was gorgeous.
Some issues I had - I don't mind an age gap in a relationship as long as it's ethical as well as legal. Tom and Patrick's age gap itself didn't bother me, but I often felt a little grossed out by the way Patrick was always referencing Tom's youth, his boyishness. It felt....eeeehhh, weird. Didn't love that.
Other than that, I just have this feeling that there was something missing for me during this book. I can't figure out what it was exactly, and if I figure it out, I'll gladly post an update, but whatever it was, it left me feeling that I couldn't give this above a 3 even though I did enjoy it for the most part.
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Hate crime, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Violence, Ableism, Outing, and Confinement
Moderate: Pregnancy and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia, Transphobia, Suicide, Child abuse, Vomit, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent
mallory10100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Outing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Cursing, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Violence, Miscarriage, and War
can’t wait for the movie to come out!!itsmemiana's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
even tho the characters are very explicitly flawd, specially Marion and Tom (in my opinion), I still really enjoyed this.
I also absolutely love the way it's written. the writing is so beautiful.
this is set in Brighton, UK in the 50's and I loved the descriptions of this place. it made me really wanna visit it someday.
after reading this I'm even more excited to see the movie and to see Tom being played by Harry Styles.
Btw, since this is an LGBTQ+ story set in the 50's in the UK when it was illegal to be apart of the community, pls note that there is a lot of homophobia and other things that might trigger some people, so look up trigger warnings before reading.
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Outing, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Alcohol
lenni_sc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Grief
fatemamemon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Homophobia
kate_lemer's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
The author mentions doing some research into the topic (being a homosexual in the 20th century), so I will not dispute that. What I wonder about is her remarks about Marion - how accurate could her depiction of life in 50s England be? Or is it just the author's biased projection onto the past?
Regarding the characters, I'm confused. Tom is not acting consistently at all.
The reading experience - reading the first half - is also spoilt by the fact that something must happen for their lifes to come crashing down. Reading the second half is spoilt because
If I wanted to read homophobic drivel, I would've selected something written in that period.
Graphic: Homophobia and Misogyny
marireadsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, and Misogyny