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britkreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
this book shows the inner workings of the characters brains. in each “novella” the character is faced with a challenge that she must find a way through. slowly destroying who she thought she was along the way, dealing with age, loneliness, betrayal, change in every sense of the word, they each go through a different twist that life throws at them. forcing us as the reader to digest their emotions as much as you may hate them for it, and want to change them, you will see yourself (maybe not in all of them) in their stories at some point and then you realize you’re faced with things you want to change about yourself as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
rami_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Drug abuse and Suicidal thoughts
kavarnistka's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Minor: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
nabila99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
my first experience with de Beauvoir was reading the second sex for gender theory class at university. if only i knew she was so talented a fiction writer as well!
this book is absolutely heart-wrenching, so much so that i had to start reading another book in the middle of it, even though i was really enjoying it, because it is so heavy....i've read novels with much darker and sadder subject material, but the way de Beauvoir writes about pain, loss of identity, desperation, resentment, hope, and despair is so visceral i cried multiple times, especially in the last eponymous short story. she captures women's suffering like no other.
i only took off a half star because the writing style in the second short story, the monologue, is so difficult to follow (even though it's genius and i admire the technique and contrast in narrative voices), and some of the side characters could have been more fleshed out.
cannot wait to read more of de Beauvoir's work!
this book is absolutely heart-wrenching, so much so that i had to start reading another book in the middle of it, even though i was really enjoying it, because it is so heavy....i've read novels with much darker and sadder subject material, but the way de Beauvoir writes about pain, loss of identity, desperation, resentment, hope, and despair is so visceral i cried multiple times, especially in the last eponymous short story. she captures women's suffering like no other.
i only took off a half star because the writing style in the second short story, the monologue, is so difficult to follow (even though it's genius and i admire the technique and contrast in narrative voices), and some of the side characters could have been more fleshed out.
cannot wait to read more of de Beauvoir's work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Abortion, and Lesbophobia