Reviews

Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn

jentidders's review against another edition

5.0

Deservedly longlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize, this short novel which combines magic realism, folklore and flash fiction, is set in 1970s Romania during Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime.

Alina and her husband Liviu are teachers in their twenties, whose marriage begins to deteriorate when Liviu's brother defects and they fall under suspicion and surveillance.

Struggling also with a manipulative mother, accusations from a student, and a menacing Secret Services age, Alina turns to her superstitious and mystical Aunt Theresa for a solution to reduce her problems to a manageable size.

Bottled Goods was completely different from what I expected, and I absolutely LOVED it. It's an inventive, peculiar and absorbing read, that is at once funny and bleak, haunting and memorable.

caynasharp's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

emcorkill_05's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

sergeantcat's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.5

kate_cunningham's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

zips777's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

emilystartsbooks's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

nicnicblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.75

roachymcgee's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.25

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol