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missanthropyknits's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Murder, and War
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and War
Minor: Infidelity, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
christcore's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
christina_chen'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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
cheazcakeguy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I only finished this because I read it for a book club. Way too much unnecessarily explicit SA & pedophilia (just because it's "historically accurate" does not mean I want to read full details of a 14-year-old being r*ped by someone twice her age), characters were mostly one dimensional and often more like caricatures, and the pacing was uneven. The plot and the character Philip were the only things keeping me going, as it is ultimately a good story. The descriptions of the cathedral and the building process were also great. However, all of the tension and story beats ended up feeling super repetitive and recycled, and for the last couple hundred pages I was rolling my eyes at the dramatic twists and turns which felt contrived and meaningless at that point. I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was unremarkable. Hard to recommend, unless you like to read soap operas with one-note characters and you're okay with repeated graphic SA. I suppose if you *really* like drama and architecture, and have extreme patience, this is the book for you.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and War
sohva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
sonygaystation's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
susanknights's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jaina8851's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
All of that said, though, I am glad I kept reading after parts early on that really turned me off. The story is beautifully constructed with the countless twists and turns and the ending ties everything together so incredibly well. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read a book this long and while this isn't a typical "vacation read", I'm so glad I decided to give it a go during a week when I was doing little else besides reading so that I could fly through it over the course of a few days.
I was expecting the story to be a higher ratio of basically "infodumps about cathedral building" (to wit, my partner asked me at one point "have they started building the cathedral yet?" and I was like "NO and I'm over 25% of the way through!") but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging I found the politics and treachery. The author mentions in the preface that he grappled with how to make Philip sympathetic as a man of God since he himself is not a believer, and I think he succeeded magnificently.
All in all, I'm glad I finally got around to reading this super long book, and while at first I was like "I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel(s)", after seeing what book 2 is centered on, I almost certainly will. It just will probably have to wait until I go on vacation again. 😄
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Rape
bookwitchva's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder