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nialiversuch'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity
katiefronk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion and War
rhii_reading'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
4.25
Graphic: Rape and Abortion
sib_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Pregnancy
isabelgalupo's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment
nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Abortion
mirireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Medical content, and Abortion
jesshindes'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
5.0
I loved this book. Shipstead is a hugely compelling storyteller whose characters I found it easy to care about and whose narrative and settings felt fresh. Her omniscient narration offers the reader frequent insights into even minor characters' experiences, so that you get the sense of a complex world peopled with complex characters each of whom is driven by their particular hopes and fears. It also means that as reader, you are often privileged to information that other characters don't have: for example, when Marian's twin brother Jamie runs away to spend a summer in Seattle, we see his experience in detail and in a way that Marian herself learns only a good deal later. This experience sits alongside the contrasting thread of Hadley's investigations into Marian's history. It's not an original plot (I'm thinking of AS Byatt's Possession as the obvious example) but Shipstead uses it to make a point about the way that we understand history - effective in a big, whole-of-the-20th-century, book - and also about the limits to our knowledge of others. Even the reader, one step ahead for most of the novel, must wait until the very end for the book - for Marian's narrative - to cede its last secret.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion
nadia'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
4.5
One where you’ll be thinking about the characters and their stories long after. Shipstead wrote the book in such a way that you’d be surprised they weren’t real!
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Violence, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
c_dalton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal death, Racism, Violence, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail