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booksillremember's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Eating disorder
rei_reads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
deedireads's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Pearl was the last title I read from the 2023 Booker Prize longlist, and what a lovely way to cap things off!
This book is a short but impactful look at grief, motherhood (and mothering in the absence of a mother), mental illness, and the lasting effects of all three. Hughes is a poet, and it shows. She took her whole life to write this book — in many different forms, many different times, until she found the heart of it all — and that shows, too. She’s also said the idea for the book started with a writing exercise in which she wrote about a particularly quirky house along her commute, which evolved into the house that made it into the final version of the book. That book, almost a character in itself, was one of my favorite parts. I also quite liked the ending!
That said, it’s not perfect — while everyone at book club agreed that we liked it, we also agreed that the details slipped right out of our brains like water as soon as we finished reading it. I also wasn’t a big fan of the way the book started in the present day and then permanently switched to the past — I expected it to go back and forth between the timelines. I think that choice slowed some of the book’s momentum, but that’s a relatively minor complaint.
If you are looking for a short but beautifully written little Irish novel, this one is for you.
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide
kodi_rae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
a_little_teacup's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent
emlo's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Suicide
thesecretbookclub's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child death
margueritemingelbier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder and Self harm
thekingbeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Eating disorder and Self harm
Minor: Suicide
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Pregnancy