Reviews

The Body in Question by Jill Ciment

ozy06's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

2.25

breathcue's review against another edition

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4.0

Short and grabbed my attention immediately. Recommend.

kimabill's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this book while I was reading it and I read it very quickly, but when I finished, I was kind of disappointed with it. It was about the murder trial of a young woman accused of setting her baby brother on fire and the jurors who are making the decision on the case. Two of the jurors start up an affair while they are sequestered and the woman in the affair has feelings of guilt because at the same time she is having the affair, her much older husband is dealing with rapidly declining health. I guess my problem was that this felt like three separate and incomplete stories. I was really interested in the case on trial and what the twists and turns would be but that part of the story was never enough. The illicit affair was interesting and dramatic but then kind of became nothing. The marriage between the older man who was dying and his younger wife who was cheating on him but still loved him was interesting but not fleshed out well enough for me. The writer does a good job making each part of the story interesting, but overall, I wanted the book to be more about just one of the stories, or to feel like one of the stories was more complete.

fairlyoddmother's review against another edition

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2.0

Quick courtroom drama that I thought was pretty good but didn't love. The "fallout" from the affair wasn't all that satisfying, and the affair between Hannah and Graham never seems to transcend beyond the physical which made the ending feel a little forced to me.

shelltannie's review against another edition

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5.0

my first 5 star read of 2024!

i'm gonna keep it real, my only frame of reference when it comes to juries and sequestrations is the freevee/prime show "jury duty," which i highly recommend. the show is hilarious and parts of this book were too.

this was an incredibly addicting read. the protagonist's perspective of the trial and her married life was unique and intriguing. i couldn't turn away. i loved the prose.

favorite quotes:

"She is fairly certain that he isn't watching the movie either. But fairly isn't certain. What if she is delusional-or worse, pathetic?"

"To pay attention to something you don't understand when there is such an alluring narrative waiting to take over your thoughts proves undoable."

one of the funnier quotes in this novel:
"An er*ction in an octogenarian is less a manifestation of desire than a celebration of life and modern medicine."

nakamotoyuta's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 rounded up

andreads12's review against another edition

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2.0

I don’t get it…

norabelle44's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

amyballesteros's review against another edition

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3.0

Mildly entertaining. The trial was the only thing that got me through the first half. The second half was actually a bit more engaging. Quick beach read/listen.

katshelf's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0