liemannen's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Small Pleasures is about trying to seperate duty from pleasure, logic from emotion - and failing to do so when the heart wins over the head. The prose was quite enjoyable, and carried a sense of peeking into another persons intimate private life.
I would have rated it a clean 4/5, although i found myself rather unsatisfied with the ending.
I would have rated it a clean 4/5, although i found myself rather unsatisfied with the ending.
Spoiler
After an eternity of will they won't they, a lesbian elopement, and the reveal that the "virgin birth" was the result of rape during drug-induced sleep... It ends with the love intrest dying in a train crash. After the heaps and heaps of misery the book piled up towards the end, I felt this was a lazy and unfulfilling write-off. Oh well.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Rape
rowan4444's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, and Miscarriage
ilovebooks2007's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Miscarriage
vinnyvince's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Homophobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and Mental illness
molliepop's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Intriguing premise of plot was overtaken by tedious romantic drama. Easy to read stylistically but hard to pin-point a distinctive genre - neither a mystery nor tragedy.
Chambers's insensitive depiction of lesbian relationships/characters and the author's thoughtless handling of a quite irrelevant ending is what to be remembered from this read.
Chambers's insensitive depiction of lesbian relationships/characters and the author's thoughtless handling of a quite irrelevant ending is what to be remembered from this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
epellicci's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I found Small Pleasures - set in and around 1950's London - to be a slow paced, tension building book. It took me until a little over 50% of the way through to feel truly invested in the story, and even then I struggled to feel attached to the characters. I was really disappointed by the ending, and found it jarringly disconnected from the rest of the story - defeating the point of the much of the drama and previous events of the book. But then I suppose that was somewhat the point. The theme of fragility, the at times hopelessness of the human condition, and darkness was present throughout - the lightness of family life and romance far more fleeting. In the end, I found Small Pleasures somewhat lackluster but appreciated the examination of human nature all the same.
Spoiler
Jean was pitifully transparent, and I found her resentment towards various other characters annoying and undignified. I also thought that the focus on Gretchen was surprisingly slim. As the initiator of the case I was expecting her to be far more central in the writing - however I did enjoy the way that Chambers revealed her history via Jean's investigation.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, and Miscarriage
Minor: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Infidelity
kirstyplumb's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Homophobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
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