Reviews with content warning for Rape - Love & Virtue

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Love & Virtue by Diana Reid

48 reviews

ssaammii's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

This novel resonated with me due to the familiarity of the setting and context which I myself have lived. I do not think I would have been as compelled had it not been for the mirror it seemed to provide for the relationships I had during my late teens and early 20s.

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katiejane's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Listened to the audiobook nicely narrated by Emma Leonard.

Nothing super new here, but I'm glad I read this book. Reid was just 24 when she wrote it, and it was interesting to see how a young person in 2021 was thinking about these issues.

I found the characters and dialogue believable. And I think Reid's done well to capture the tendency in academia to analyse, philosophise and extrapolate meaning from personal experiences often to the detriment of the person trying to process/live with them. And that doing this without the person's consent is another way to violate them. And that there's a tension here between wanting to think deeply and conceptually about things without becoming and object yourself. There's more to unpick here, but I think the novel's strength is its unending cry for its protagonist to be seen as a whole messy person wanting as much agency and autonomy as possible despite the labels thrown on her.

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