Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Het bal der gekken by Victoria Mas

12 reviews

merle98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Confinement, and Misogyny

ktrain3900's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Strong female characters are a surefire way to get me to read a book. The women (both "mad" and otherwise) are real, nuanced, opinionated. Their story is complemented by concise writing, rarely an unnecessary word or detail. (Sure, I had some difficulty picturing Salpetriere, a character in itself, but I always tend this sort of difficulty when reading.) Judgment is largely reserved and kept among the men. There is a matter of fact nature in dealing with spiritualism and communicating with the dead that lends a distance with which I'm not entirely certain I agree. Yet, you feel of and for these women. There but for the grace of God and all that. A solid, promising first effort. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Forced institutionalization

Minor content warnings selected because these are vital to the story.

yum1_2's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Incest, Misogyny, and Self harm

Moderate: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

A beautiful, haunting tale, unfortunately based on true events (loosely). A really character-driven study of the plight of women in 19th century France, centred around the (real) Saltpêtrière asylum.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

🎵“But no one likes a mad woman

What a shame she went mad

You made her like that”🎵 ~Taylor Swift, Mad Woman

Yes I thought of the above quoted song as I read this book 😂 I was pulled in right away and didn’t want to put it down! Loved the writing style- it’s written in third person and focuses on 3 women’s experiences/inner thoughts. 

Due to the length of the novel, it was a short and quick read! The characters are well developed and have their own unique voice. Given the setting, the story is dark and heart wrenching but has a small glimmer of hope by the end.

Overall it was an interesting exploration of feminism and spiritualism in 1800s Paris! My only “complaint” was I wish the book was longer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Misogyny

Moderate: Incest, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Pedophilia

Minor: Child death and Suicide attempt

moonlightamelia's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

i feel like there could’ve been a little bit more depth explored but i’ll let the french have this slay

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Ableism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Incest, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol

niamhvro's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

A really intriguing look at the perception and treatment of women, particularly in medicine. I found the consideration of father and daughter very well done and the idea of a fathers demands and dismissal of his daughter to be a cornerstone of the novel in a way that explained much of the behaviour and lives of the women. 
Unfortunately, it took about 50 pages before I was drawn in. The start is very slow and it took me some time to become invested. I also think there were some missed opportunities, as the characters that were focused on were not always the ones that seemed to have the most interesting story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Sexism

yuvkn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Incest, Medical trauma, and Child abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

allisonshewfelt's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.25

"In fact, our choice is never between truth and lies, but between the consequences that will follow each one."
"If she must descend into the depths the better to rise again, then she will allow herself to fall."

The mad women's ball is a beautiful yet haunting story of how women were treated back in 19th century Paris. We meet 2 main characters, Geneviève and Eugénie. Geneviève is a stern nurse who worships science and the notorious Dr. Charcot, famous neurologist of the Salpêtrière asylum. Although she's never garnered any affection towards the women, she is the foundation for the hospital. Eugénie is a strong headed and opinionated daughter of a well known family. She gets sent to the Salpêtrière for seeing and hearing the dead. Her father doesn't want the family name associated with that so he commits her there. 
"This is a world in which upholding the family name is more important than protecting one's daughters."
Her gift is not one I was afraid of because these spirits weren't there to scare her, they were usually loved one or others loved one.

The Salpêtrière is an asylum for deranged women. However, many of the women are simply unwanted by their fathers, brothers, husbands etc. When a women wants to have an opinion or be more than just a mother, she gets dumped here. Life for women back then was really unfair. Unfortunately, being so penned up inside and treated like experiment animals, many developed panic attacks, palsy and seizures. Every year there is a mad women's ball for the parisian folk. For them, it is a spectacle like going to the zoo and for the women, it is a chance to be noticed for more than just a mad woman.

Although Geneviève was a very closed off character, I really love how she started to doubt her beliefs and realized how these doctors mistreated their patients. She knew that Eugénie was special and didn't belong here and she wanted to help her escape.

I was really sad with how this ended. I wish things had gone well for both characters but you'll have to read it to find out what happens. The writing in this is beautiful as well. This work of art relays themes of what it means to be free, to believe, fearing what you do not understand, and allowing yourself to fall in order to rise again. It shows the true strength of women and what they can accomplish together.

It's sickening to know that this is based off a real asylum of the same name. I can't believe having an opinion back then as a women was enough to be thrown in here. I don't understand how men could treat them like that.

If you like the lost apothecary, you will love this book. They take place around the same time with female main characters and relationships between them and the setting gives off the same gothic ambience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Rape, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, and Misogyny

Minor: Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Incest, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism

whitneys_bookstack's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

There is a lot of potential for this book, I loved the concept and wish it went deeper into the lives of these women and interactions between them. Overall good read 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Incest

Sexual abuse of disabled person