Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

26 reviews

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The setting and the characters shine in this. It feels very Sweeney Todd, dark and dirty London. The characters are well-rounded, surprising, likeable, and compelling.
I wasn't on board with the perspective change mid-book during reading it but now recognize the complexity it allowed the book to portray.
It really kept me guessing and kept me invested in Sue's and Maud's life. The twists and turns and the character development had me picturing this as a movie in my mind.
It's really giving on so many fronts: there's a queer love story, a betrayal plot, a mystery, mistaken identities, an asylum, a murder.
This is definitely for fans of Frannie Langton and Sally Lockhart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

kpwxx's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder, Dementia, Stalking, Abortion, and Deportation

aduqu's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Thoroughly enjoyable, and definitely a page turner! There was twist after twist, and each twist colored the events before it differently. 

It didn't quite reach 5 stars for me because it did drag a bit in the middle, but otherwise was a captivating read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia

clovelatte's review

adventurous 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lironore's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

Sarah Waters est une conteuse hors pair ! Même les longueurs avaient tout leur sens. La tension est intense et on se demande toujours quel rebondissement viendra chambouler l'intrigue. J'ai eu dû mal à arrêter de lire. 
- écrit comme un classique mais avec un talent incroyable pour le conte. La plume est fluide et pleine de sens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

naiu_cs's review against another edition

dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

It was quite exciting, even though it sometimes seemed to be dragged on for longer than was really necessary for the plot or the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jayisreading's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

2.25

I certainly am not the first person to have picked this book up because they enjoyed The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan-wook. And, with that said, I have to admit that I actually didn’t enjoy Fingersmith as much as I thought I would. For one, I was expecting something far more fast-paced. Instead, I found myself slogging through long and slowish-paced chapters. When the twists came, it heightened the story a bit and grabbed my attention. However, the chapters in-between those twists didn’t feel particularly engaging.

Waters isn’t a bad writer by any means, but I felt that there was a lack of character development that would have gotten the reader more invested. Things happened to Maud and Sue, but… that’s really it. They reacted to certain events, but there wasn’t any significant development in their characters that made it feel this book was worth reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Despite being the longest novel I've read in years, Fingersmith was such a thumping great read that its 600 or so pages felt much shorter. However, although the story was tightly plotted and interestingly structured, its middle parts--2 and 3--weren't as great in my opinion, and I didn't really click with some aspects of the story, thus the 3.5 stars.

Nevertheless, it's got complex, multidimensional characters who kept surprising you; numerous twists and turns that added ever more depth to the story; and themes that were adeptly and effectively illustrated.

Very glad that this fun book was also my first lesbian novel, in addition to further reaffirming my steadfast belief that men really ain't shit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

Far too slow for me. Unnecessary or repetitive details made this fascinating tale completely uninteresting.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

cummyworms's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

There was not a single point in the book where I was prepared for what would happen next. I do have complaints though. First things first, it’s just too long. And that length does not add to the story. The author often over-explains scenes to the point they’re no longer emotionally impactful. Also, the ending was great, but at the same time, I do not like how Maude’s character was wrapped up and the career she decided to take on. I think it was meant to be empowering, but it failed at that, and simply seemed as though she would permanently be trapped in her trauma. 

On further analysis, I enjoy the ending more. Maude’s writing is meant to signify her carving a space out for the portrayal of love like her and Sue’s, instead of what she was fed by her uncle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Lesbophobia