Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

219 reviews

aserra's review

dark medium-paced

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

1.75

This could've been an average 3-star read were it written better. From a technical standpoint I'm appalled at what the editors and the publisher allowed in the final manuscript. POV is a sloppy mess, switching often from paragraph to paragraph with no indication (e.g. one paragraph is in third person limited, the next is third person omniscient, the next third person limited for a different character). The pages are littered with sentence fragments posing as complete sentences. "Breaking the rules" can be effective, are often effective, but this occurs so often it's distracting, confounding, which the POV issues exacerbate.

(To be clear: I have no doubt as to the Delia Owen's intelligence and mastery; she is a smart, smart and introspective person and I do not mean to insinuate she is anything less than)

Beyond the technical aspects, the content simply does not shine. Unnatural dialogue (even considering the time period) dulls the story and characters. There are many descriptions of the marsh that show what the novel could have been, but isn't.

Additionally, when reading and reflecting on the book, the term "poverty porn" comes to mind. The various forms of poverty in the book all feel sanitized, made palatable and neat for audiences far outside the reality of this socioeconomic positioning.

One note in favor of the novel: I think it is wonderful that a book wherein

Spoiler

a survivor of attempted SA exacts her own justice outside of a system that would undoubtedly fail and villainize her

transcended into the mainstream. In that way, I hope Where the Crawdads Sing is a stepping stone in a very necessary path of progress.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Classism, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Injury/injury detail

An aside on cast diversity: I'm not sure why people are marking this as a diverse book when it's an amalgam of white people in North Carolina with two token Black characters.

mxpringle's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Violence, Death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Confinement, and Racism

loona0's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence

dafranzi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Toxic relationship and Racial slurs

nadiamarjolein's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Very special story. As a non-native speaker from Europe, the English is sometimes a bit hard to understand - especially when sentences are written in dialect.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse

cliterature's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

0.25

I don't know if 0 stars counts, so I put 0.25.

For those who don't know, Delia Owens and her husband are murderers. Going to Africa and shooting people to protect the elephants, yep thats what they did! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder

k_elliott's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

saskiahill's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Injury/injury detail, and Excrement

readbyshelley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

Minor: Blood, Infertility, and Slavery

hbotney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Murder, Racism, Stalking, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Death of parent