Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Lie with Me by Philippe Besson

9 reviews

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

3.5

I’ve always loved to do that, to invent the lives of strangers in passing. It could almost be considered an obsession. I believe it started when I was a child. I remember its worrying my mother. “Stop with your lies!” she would say. She used the word “lies” instead of “stories,” but nevertheless, it continued, and all these years later, I still find myself doing it.

 

Lie With Me is an English translation of French writer Phillipe Besson’s Arrête avec tes mensonges translated by Molly Ringwald. (Yes, that Molly Ringwald from the Breakfast Club or, to this generation playing Archie’s mom on the TV series Riverdale.) Somewhat autobiographical, the novel contains the over twenty years later mature reflections of a verbose writer on first love as a teen in 1984 rural France. A bestseller, it has been nominated and won awards in the last few years. More attention coming with translations, a hype train behind it with comparisons to several contemporary American gay works going back to Brokeback Mountain. (That title as part of a collection by Annie Prolux was a Pulitzer Prize nominee and if you lived through the Brokeback Mountain movie mania, I suppose that would give an idea of the discussion around this book.) Can it live up to such expectations? Having read it in two languages it remains a beautiful, if melancholic book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Suicide, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death, Car accident, Vomit, and Ableism

thenonbinaryc's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

m_storky's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

this book destroyed me in the most beautiful and poetic way possible. 1000/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Suicide

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Homophobia

elioreadsbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This actually made me tear up while I was reading this is a beautifully rendered story with so much heart and emotion at the core

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Biphobia, Abandonment, and Ableism

There are frequent references to the AIDS crisis and the effect it had on the POV character and people around him. The third section of the book

deals entirely with the death of Thomas by suicide

and more references are made to death throughout the book

natthahlyh's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Suicide

dorianr's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Death

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Abandonment, and Death of parent

celiananas's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship

caelysium's review

emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Ableism

davidbowie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Death

Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Ableism