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drannieg's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
Great in places, but hard to sympathise with any of the characters. There were hints that Kath, the protagonist, wasn't nearly as silly or passive as she thinks herself to be, but they were... uncertain and probably the stuff of English degrees. Dated at times, and I did not like the casual use of rape as a term of endearment (repeatedly and across time and countries). But overall enjoyable?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Classism
charliemjs's review
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
2.5
It's very apparent that this book was written in the 80s. I would have given it a much higher rating had it not been for the amount of casual racism and sexism (the latter of which got worse as the book went on), which made it very difficult to enjoy the book. I definitely liked the character of Jane the most, she had the most sense and I was glad Katherine had her as a guide. There were too parts of the book I found particularly distasteful. The first was Michele's treatment of Katherine - he was clearly abusive which was acknowledged but never properly dealt with and overall Katherine seemed to think of him fondly which was odd (unless I misunderstood this). The second was Jonathan's child with and marriage to a pupil of his. This was especially strange since Jonathan was meant to be some great guy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy