Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

33 reviews

czoltak's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

hue's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Lovely, but so very sad. It was interesting to follow Susie's pov even if she was already dead when the story started. The people around her and her death were intensely interesting, and felt so very real. So human.

Must say that I was boiling over when Mr Harvey got away even after everyone knew it was him who'd killed Susie, and hurt so many more. I wish I could've strangled him, or that someone in the story would've done so. Alas. Sometimes there is no satisfying conclusion, no proper justice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

roveronez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

The begining is very disturbing, then it gets interesting, then it gets WTF??? The story starts stretching indefinitely, it becomes a bit hard to follow some events as the author takes her sweet time to continue some parts left suspended, and then close to the end some very nonsense things take place and I wondered "why put this in the story?". The whole thing with Susie and Ruth and Ray next to the end was just unnecessary and weird and it spoiled the book for me. What started off as a strong yet difficult topic to swallow became a nonsense by the end. I'm really frustrated by how things evolve in the last third of the book. What a shame...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I saw the movie years ago and remember it differently than the book. So some of the content was surprising to me. I’m undecided on how I feel about these differences.i think I liked the movie better than the book because the movie was more dramatic and had actual resolution. The book is satisfying in a different way, and in some ways, more realistic in that when people die, the rest of us still need to find a way to keep living.

I thought the writing was strong, but I’m conflicted on the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

tamzy6's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars. It's a beautiful story and I really liked the concept of the Inbetween. The story is filled with broken people but they didn't feel like caricatures. Each one of them had distinct and rich personalities. It was really bittersweet seeing them grow up and experience the things that Susie will never be able to do in human form.

UNTIL... The ending.

What the fuck was that about? I really disliked how Sebold just HAD to give Susie that 'perfect' ending in human form, where Susie kind of possessed Ruth's body and then had sex with Ray? I'm all for fantasy and magical realism, we are reading about a ghost's thoughts after all, but romanticising this possession felt vulgar and weird. This could have been a 4 star read but meh, it felt weird after that.

Also, how did this book get published without a copyeditor because I found there were lots of weird phrases and spelling mistakes, e.g. using "reverted" instead of "riveted", and I had to re-read it to make sure I wasn't imagining things. You know, basic writing stuff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Susie Salmon is tragically murdered as a teenager, but goes on to watch her family, and their grief and healing, from beyond the grave.

This one is the next installment in my “Project DNF” (a goal to finish all the books I’ve DNFed at other points in my life) and I’m really glad I picked it back up. 95% of this book was really beautiful and poignant, as well as really sad. I thought it was touching if a bit morose, and found myself really invested in the characters. In particular, I enjoyed seeing how the ripple effects of a death like this can impact so many people involved, even beyond immediate family members and close friends.

That said, I felt like the last few chapters represented a dramatic shift in tone and substance, and I really did not like the note the book ended on. It felt like we were building towards a certain type of story for the bulk of the novel, only to be thrown some weird curveballs at the end. This is, in large part, a book about closure—but unfortunately, it offers very little of that to the reader.

If you can handle really sad stories and want to read an interesting reflection on grief, this might be for you, but I truly wish it had gone a different way at the end.

CW: Death/child death; sexual assault/rape; violence; grief; infidelity

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

michaelion's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

The only part I didn't like so much

was her coming back to life to have sex. Like I get it I don't wanna die a virgin either but there's more life to live other than sex!

I loved everything else though. No complaints!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Dementia

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

Okay, why the hell did I think this was a young adult book?? I swear that it was mis-shelved at my  library growing up because what was I doing reading this as a pre-teen??? I was just in love with this. It moved me and disgusted me and made me feel for these characters like entire whole people. Emotions are extremely complicated, as is grief. And there are so many beautiful lines in here. What a triumph of a novel about how survival is the most innate human urge. I wish I could speak in beautiful words like Ms. Sebold.
*bought at Bank Street Books, a used book store in Luray, VA, near Shenandoah National Park

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Rape, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, and Stalking

pumpkinmasterug's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

Not the best novel I’ve read, but definitely not the worst. It presents grief through a range of perspectives and is definitely dark and uncomfortable at several points. I enjoyed majority of the book, however

the possession scene spoiled the tone of it all for me, especially since the argument for Susie sleeping with her crush instead of tracking down her killer is her reclaiming what was taken from her during her murder, but after she hopes her father dies to be in heaven with her TWICE she let’s her family suffer in grief when she could’ve caught her killer or unveiled the location of her body and helped them. Of course that would’ve been very cliche so I understand why Seabold avoided this, but it just made Susie come across very selfish and quite unlikeable.

It’s a bit corny in some places and I don’t think the writing style will suit everyone, and some of the characters are so flat and predictable they read more like AI trying to blend in than actual human beings, but I honestly didn’t mind that too much in this case. Overall though, it’s a good read with a hopeful message and I did enjoy it for the most part.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

persian_green's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia