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herperfume's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
darumachan's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I was initially captivated by the mystery of the haunting at the core of the novel, but that was also where I was most frustrated. I don't mind an ambiguous ending that leaves you pondering, but I realize here that I do take issue with patterns or "clues" that are either abandoned or that are later contradicted for no reason, pointing the reader to a ridiculously broad conclusion that the problem is men and marriage in general, rather than following through on the more subtle relationships between heteronormative marriage and homophobia, misogyny, medical gaslighting, mental illness, gun violence, and family cultures founded on authoritarianism.
I also am dissatisfied with how the MC was developed. I'm fine with an unlikeable MC, but here she seemed to be a faded copy of her elder sisters rather than her own person, even though she was the one who survived to tell her story. She doesn't want to be compared to men, but she has no problem taking advantage of her romantic partner to do the emotional and intellectual labor expected of women married to "genius" male artists, for example. This is especially problematic given that this is a mixed-race partnership. The MC's sexuality was also handled rather clumsily and her attraction to women seemed tacked on to an otherwise asexual character.
Graphic: Confinement, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, and War
rachaelwho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Extremely skilled voice acting by the narrator.
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
bri_fabiano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual assault
Minor: Gun violence and Suicide
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment
yellow_ylugbug's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Pregnancy
elisabethreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Blood
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Alcohol
mondovertigo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Self harm, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Car accident, and Lesbophobia
readundancies's review
- 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
3.25
The writing is very atmospheric. It’s gloomy and melancholic, with a main character that’s ill fitting in the world she finds herself in and a mother figure whose misanthropy is steeped in what is either curse or delusion and it’s captivating. The suspense is strong and it helps in traversing the rather slow pace of the novel. I really enjoyed the way that Sarai Walker set the scenes of each chapter and the subdivision of the parts within. However, I think a lot of the foreshadowing was a bit too heavy-handed and in your face as the reader; it reinforced the atmosphere of the story, but also made it seem like the suspense was overly dramatic at times.
There’s also a bit of a misconception that this is more of a mystery novel. Which I can understand, but upon finishing this story, ambiguity is the name of the game and the mystery surrounding the Chapel family is not the focus of the novel. There are no answers given to the reader upon finishing this tale because there are no real questions with which the Chapel curse is of importance. The whys and why nots behind the curse are not addressed, it simply exists and so we instead explore how the Chapel sisters grapple with the curse.
The characters are definitely distinct but what you get as a reader from them is little; they’re not very open to Iris as our narrator and so we don’t get to really see what makes them tick. Iris is an interesting lead character because her interpretation of the world around her and her family is coloured by the fact that she could be an unreliable narrator. I could never be sure that what she was saying about her past was entirely truthful, whether that’s because she was addled in the head like her mother or because of the paranormal events that occur throughout the story.
I will say that I think the ending makes the tale feel rather unfinished. The ending itself is not the problem, I actually think the abruptness and the finality of it works well, but the execution feels a bit muddled. I wanted more of a punch to send me off at the end, more of a tighter KO than the jumbled flurry of things happening that all culminated to a single hanging dash.
The pacing was also slow, and it really started to feel that way by Calla and Daphne’s almost joint demise. Then Zelie just became an annoyance to deal with. It felt too long in that there were almost too many paired sisters (we could’ve stopped at 5 I think because there was also Belinda to contend with), and yet not long enough with respect to how much is packed in that last chapter and glossed over. Sylvia Wren didn’t get enough page time for me in lieu of Iris Chapel’s slow moving story because the synopsis seemed to advertise that we’d get to know this alias a little more than we actually get to.
I think one of the strongest aspects of the novel are the themes that are tackled, especially those of sexuality, misogyny and motherhood. The way that motherhood specifically was explored through Belinda, a troubled mother who never wanted children or marriage, and the impact her actions had on her children, really showcased how poorly women have been treated throughout time and how stifled and powerless their situations often were, even in the context of extreme wealth. The madwomen trope was alive and kicking in this story, and I truly loved how Sarai Walker constructed such a juxtaposition between marriage and weddings (which are normally displayed as positive and happy events) with this idea of incarceration and institutionalization, in that the Chapel girls literally attributed their family home to that of a wedding cake.
All in all, though I didn’t fall in love with this read, I don’t regret picking it up and trying it, and so if you’re in the mood for a gothic novel with strong feminist themes and strange unsettling deaths, this may just fit the bill.
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
closedcassket's review
- 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? No
5.0
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail