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pkc's reviews
362 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Gore
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, and Sexual content
- 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
5.0
The story vacillates between Marion’s and Patrick’s perspective: the former reflecting on the events of her tumultuous marriage from the relative safety of 1999, while the latter’s perspective is told in the form of extensive diaries. The perspectives are beautifully woven together as events start to derail. I loved how Tom’s story was never told from his own perspective. It gives him the same air of unknowability that each narrator would experience as he retreated into his respective “other life.” Bethan Roberts’ writing is so skilled though that he is no less formed or sympathetic by the omission of his direct perspective
I found myself throughout abhorring the decisions made by the characters and felt anger throughout but ultimately, pity. The bulk of the story takes place in the late 1950s in Brighton, and while Brighton now proudly owns its title as the queer capital of Britain, at the time, it was as backwards as the rest of the country in its attitudes towards queer people, or “inverts”. The characters are placed in impossible decisions and face untenable quandaries in their pursuit of a happy and authentic life, wrestling between the ideal and the expected path.
This was an easy 5⭐️ and I’d recommend it to anyone. Some caution though, by its very nature it’s super bleak and infuriating from a 2024 vantage point.
Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Violence
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- 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
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Misogyny, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Suicide
3.0
Moderate: Terminal illness
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, and Rape
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, and Mental illness
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Grief, Animal death, and Animal cruelty