Reviews with content warning for Rape - Small Pleasures

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

196 reviews

allisonz6's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

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ottercorg's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad slow-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? No

3.0

As I work alphabetically through my TBR, based on what my local library has available, I can't seem to remember why I added this book to the list. I don't recall where I learned about it or what may have stood out to me, making me want to read it.

On top of that, it took me almost half the book to really get into the story. I almost gave up, until things started to get interesting between Jean and Howard. That's precisely what kept me reading - the true plot of the book itself was not particularly interesting to me.

All in all, I don't have much to say about this novel from Chambers. I give it 3 stars because I think it was well written, I enjoyed Jean as a character (in many ways I feel I can relate to her), and once I got into it I did enjoy it.

But I have to say I hate how everything resolved. I could not be more disappointed, on all accounts.

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marhuitre's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

I really liked the first half of the book, it was calm yet intriguing, and I wanted to know more about Gretchen. But after that, I just got mad.

the lesbian storyline, which I was so happy about, got awful treatment, the rape-plot was so predictable from the start but didn’t get any resolution for the victim, and the end was so unnecessary

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rgs's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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alicekd's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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? It's complicated

4.5

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ruby_mae_read's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

2.5

I’ll be very honest— I would never have bothered picking this novel up if it weren’t for the fact that it was selected for a book club I somewhat recently joined. Reading the synopsis, there wasn’t anything that particularly stood out to me, so I had low expectations. This ended up being the right call, as I didn’t feel disappointed or felt that my time was wasted. I didn’t find Small Pleasures especially remarkable in either narrative or characters, but this is definitely more a matter of personal interest than anything. I think some readers may find the mystery and eventual romance compelling, and I will say that it is refreshing to have a struggling protagonist who is somewhat older (forty, if I’m remembering correctly). And, to Chambers’ credit, I did like her prose enough. She took a rather quiet and restrained approach that was slightly reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro, and I thought she did a good job maintaining that tone while still being able to capture the intense emotions that Jean (the protagonist) felt.

Before reading, I decided to check the reviews out, and I was surprised to see a relatively large number of reviewers who criticized the ending. This somewhat colored my reading experience, especially because I was keen to find out why so many people disliked it. All I can say is that if an afterword is required to explain the ending, then something needs to be reworked (and I will say the ending was unsatisfying). That being said—and to kind of defend the author—I can kind of see why she made this decision, especially considering that she did some foreshadowing at the very start of the novel. Another critique I have that I didn’t see as many people address was how the author decided to handle a lesbian relationship. I didn’t like that it was used as a plot twist, along with the fact that it was somewhat villainized (to me, at least).

I would say take this review with a grain of salt, considering the circumstances that led to me reading it.

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littlecatinabox's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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? It's complicated

3.75

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asreadbynicole's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel but the ending was completely absurd and unnecessary. It felt disconnected from this gentle and beautiful novel leaving me feeling betrayed. I adored the concept of this novel and the progression throughout despite it moving rather slowly. It makes it even more fascinating since it is based on a true story. The characters were developed excellently and the novel felt true to its time period. The book and all of its elements truly came alive when reading it.

This was my first experience reading Claire Chambers and I look forward to reading more of her novels. Her storytelling is so natural and effortless making it extremely easy to connect with.

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sophiabenton's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

such a nice chilled read! i’ve seen this book everywhere online since it came out, with a really memorable cover so i picked it up in the library without even knowing what it was about. i didn’t actually read the blurb until i was 30 pages in, wondering where the story was actually going to go 😂
it’s not my usual genre, with the characters being middle aged and it being general/historical fiction but it was a really relaxing laid back book. a nice break from stressful fantasy i usually read! really well written and nice historical touches in terms of descriptions and vocabulary.

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