Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Lie with Me by Philippe Besson

89 reviews

parasihir's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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

4.0

I am intrigued by the way Philippe describes his love, his youth, and the love of his life. It is consuming, full of hunger, and quiet. It is far too quiet for the universe to hear, but loud enough for both of them to understand. I enjoy it thoroughly. Following the series of events that Philippe described is not that hard. With little effort, I can jump right in and see what Philippe was trying to depict. Of love. Of grief. And also, of yearning.

I just wanted to write to tell you that I have been happy during these months together, that I have never been so happy, and that I already know I will never be so happy again. 

Obviously, I cry.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kirsten_marie's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

I feel like I have to reread this soon to get all the details of the book. I especially enjoyed the first part of the book because it felt more descriptive and scenic to me than the rest, which was more flashbacks and dialogue. But overall, I enjoyed these few characters and their tragedy.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

dakotahreads's review

Go to review page

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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hollydunndesign's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ariesbrian's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

natashaball's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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

4.0

Émouvant et très beau à lire, une histoire d’amour difficile à lire, mais important d’être racontée
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

augustst's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hue's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

It felt rather. . . flat. The narrator tells a lot of details and such but it feels like a long explanation rather than a story to follow. I didn't much care what the narrator was up to nor where the story would go. It could've been sad but since it was written so "clumsily", it wasn't. Didn't leave an impression.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

meeklovestoread's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-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? No

4.25

This was my first french translated novel and my first experience reading this author's work so I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up really liking it. It was short so I read it in like three hours and it was lovely. I really liked how it was written and I think the pacing of this novel was done really well. Honestly, if I'm being honest I wasn't feeling Thomas's love for Philippe at first. I thought that he just viewed him as an opportunity that arose, but the last page of this novel was really heartbreaking. Also, the events that followed after 1984 were insane to me. It's still really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this actually happened in real life; that it's really not fiction.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katieb94's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted sad fast-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

3.0

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for and honest (but late) review. I do feel I wasn’t the right audience for this book however, it was a queer coming of age story and I really couldn’t connect with the characters at all. 

I’m also not sure if it’s semi-autobiographical or not. 

Another issue I have is with the layout, I just get confused by novels that don’t have speech marks for anything spoken. Even though it was indicated I still
got lost. 

The main part of the story is told to use by the writer/narrator as he tells us about his relationship with a boy, Thomas, whilst at high school- including the details of their sex lives too. I liked this part of the book best and seeing their relationship develop was nice to read.

It felt very obsolete though when it came to their adult hood. They drifted away, didn’t contact each other and it isn’t until the narrator meets Thomas’ son that we have any idea what happened after.

It takes a surprisingly sad turn towards the end that I didn’t see coming and there’s no direction it’s going to happen. 

3/5 stars.
Sweet little queer romance book. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings