Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Small Pleasures

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

16 reviews

sophie_kean's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

- The ending - I found unneccesary and frustrating alongside all the unfinished plotlines in the book
- All of it was pretty predictable
- I found most of the characters that we spent time with a bit dry (I would have loved it if we got some actual insight into
- The depiction of lesbians??? I mean. It had the potential to be such an interesting and exciting plot but it just became a brief, fairly tragic side plot with a good dose of stereotypical lesbian villainization.
- I did enjoy bits of it - I think it just wasn't the story I wanted to read. The story was set up with a really interesting premise and I had so much hope for the potential characters and relationships, but it just focused on the things that I a) don't care about b) have heard before or c) found offensive (and I don't think just because it's set/marketing itself as historical fiction)

- Other people seem to love it so I'm sure it was doing many things right (I enjoyed the writing, the characters at the start, moments of the mother/daughter relationship discourse) but there was too much that was predictable, dull and low-key offensive for me to properly enjoy it.

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molliepop's review against another edition

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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.

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cursedepub's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

apologies in advance as this will be a very subjective review. maybe this one just wasn't for me. Small Pleasures is exceptionally well-written with impeccable, immersive prose that is just the right balance of restrained and expressive. however, the novel failed for me when the narrative seemed to try to inspire me to sympathize with a straight couple over a lesbian one, and then went as far as to imply that said lesbian woman's troubles and poverty were her just comeuppance for daring to leave a heteronormative life behind, as well as framing this as a rash and irresponsible decision. i had been very into the book before that, and it left a sour taste in my mouth that dampened my ability to enjoy and appreciate the rest of it.

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molly_appleby's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective relaxing 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

5.0

oh my god. oh my GOD
absolutely exquisite !! i absolutely adored this style of writing, and am confident in saying that this perfectly exemplifies my ideal book: quiet, slice of life exploration of suburbia with a twist.
resonates with anyone who has ever felt trapped by duty, expectation or responsibility.
really loved the pace of this book !! quite slow but i feel like it very much fit the content / plot of the novel - felt very day to day, measured and controlled.
so many beautiful, witty and insightful one liners ! too many to include all of my bookmarked here haha
some brilliant uses of irony that made me cackle and then feel very sorry for the protagonist
i've read a lot of criticisms of the last chapter and the ending in particular, but i really loved it ?? maybe i just like torturing myself with sad writing but i thought it was incredibly well done, perfectly gut wrenching and a brilliantly shocking ending to such a comfortable, quiet novel.

thoughts whilst reading:

dripping in dutiful domesticity. trapped in suburbia.
quiet, simmering resentment. the universal experience of being happy for someone you love, and yet struggling to supress your jealousy.
wonderfully tender descriptions of mother / daughter relationships. beautifully dysfunctional.
gorgeous exploration of the halting, tentative beginnings of adult friendship.
the small, gentle foreshadowing of the love / tenderness between jean and howard is almost unsettling ??
- it feels so easy and yet passive ? slipping into love, rather than falling ?
howard's words and actions feel ... calculated ? measured ? i really want to like him as he seems like a kind and sensitive soul but sometimes he does feel like a bit of a wet lettuce tehe
interesting how jean and howard are never all that explicit in their affection for eachother ? they seem to silently grow closer as much of their 'courtship' happens whilst howard is unavailable
- nice departure from the usual overwhelming, passionate displays of love and affection usually seen in romance novels
- perhaps a reflection of their ages / maturity / past experiences ?

thoughts post-reading:

interesting that jean is so aware of her own frustrations at being trapped in a quiet domestic life and yet seems so scathing of gretchen's attempt to free herself from a similar situation. jean justifies her judgement of gretchen through her concern for margaret (and howard), but i'm not entirely convinced ??
- just feels quite hypocritical ? although maybe in part it could be because for so much of the novel jean seems determined to deny herself the happiness (with howard) that might improve her own situation.
just when you think jean's self-sacrificing / selfless / meek character is getting a little too ... virtuous ? irritating ? she has a little vicious thought or outburst which i find very satisfying and real-wordly. it always comes just in time to keep me invested in her character and the book as a whole.
awkward and potentially harmful presentation of a lesbian relationship though which i don't love, although i suppose this can be chalked up to a rather conservative narrator and the time setting. i do think it could have been handled better though ?

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epellicci's review against another edition

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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.

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.

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.

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groovywitch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.5

The title is a complete misnomer and I’m honestly so surprised the book is so well received. The twist was so disappointing, the characters so generic, and there was too much misogyny, homophobia and distressing and disturbing subject matters for this book to have such a misleading title and twee cover art.

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