Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

14 reviews

kananineko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Miscarriage and Xenophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Death, Sexual assault, and Torture

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ottercorg's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.5

I picked this one up after seeing it in an article, recommended to those who enjoyed Where the Wild Things Are as a child. It was my favorite, so naturally I wanted to give this one a shot. 

This was easy, funny, and pleasant. I loved the conversations, particularly between Dorothy and Estelle - they felt so natural and real, as if I was right there in the room with them. 

I enjoyed Ingalls’ writing style, and enjoyed the plot. The only reason I’m not giving it a full 5 stars is because the ending was SO fast I nearly got whiplash and it was almost hard to follow. The pace suits the events of the ending, but still, I would’ve appreciated a little more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, and Murder

florecita_lectora's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Loved this quirky love affair between Dorothy, a lonely, loveable housewife, and Larry, a frogman that escaped experimentation and torture. They connect and empathise with each other's traumas. And there's lots of avocados, too. 

I just wish Dorothy got actual closure with Estelle (or maybe that's just my combative side), but alas, maybe we needed that heartbreaking friend breakup.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Infidelity

Moderate: Grief, Child death, Torture, and Miscarriage

Minor: Car accident

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Addiction, Child death, Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual content

alishamegan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Torture, Car accident, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

blewballoon's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This book certainly affected me. I was unsettled, disturbed, and upset in the end and it stuck with me for a while. Most of the characters apart from Dorothy are almost comically awful, but not comically enough for it not to be distressing. Even during the parts of the book where pleasant things are occurring, there is a constant undercurrent of tension and dread. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

unroxy's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident

rorikae's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

'Mrs. Caliban' by Rachel Ingalls is an engaging novella that centers on one woman's issues with her marriage and her relationship with a lizard man. 
Dorothy and her husband Fred have had a strained relationship ever since they lost their young son and she had a miscarriage. They have drifted apart and Dorothy suspects that her husband is having an affair. One day, she hears a story on the radio about a lizard man that has escaped from a local research facility. Questioning her sanity, Dorothy doesn't think much on it until the lizard man appears in her kitchen in need of help. As Dorothy talks with the lizard man, who she calls Larry, she learns more about his experiences in the research facility and the two start a quiet but caring affair. 
If you enjoyed the movie 'The Shape of Water, but wanted more of the relationship between the protagonist and the sea monster and less of the spy plotline, then you really must read 'Mrs. Caliban.' I'm honestly shocked that this wasn't a direct inspiration for 'The Shape of Water' as it has a very similar plot line and explore how we connect to others. 
Ingalls does a great job of plopping us squarely into Dorothy's life and then slowly expanding her world through her interactions with her husband, her friend Estelle, and with Larry. There are interweaving plot lines that pop back in and out throughout the story though ultimately, the story centers on Dorothy's relationships and how her grief over the loss of her child and her unraveling relationship with her husband affects those relationships. A lot happens in the story and though we don't get to delve deeply into the characters, I still found myself invested. There is consistent tension between Dorothy hiding Larry in her home and keeping up an affair with him while also hiding this fact from her husband. 
The ending was not what I was expecting and given the quieter aspects of the rest of the book, felt almost over the top. I think this would be a good book for a book club as there is a good amount to delve into and unpack about Dorothy's relationships and the interweaving points of the story. 
Ultimately, it's an engaging novella that expertly utilizes its speculative aspects to delve into the relationships of the main character. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Torture

jesshindes's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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? No

4.5

 This book covers two of my current interests: novellas, and creature romance. It's a beautiful example of both. The central concept - unhappy housewife Dotty starts a relationship with a hunky sea creature who has escaped from a government lab - is just right for a story of this length, I think. You can get away at novella and short story length without too many detailed explanations or too much involved world building (altho the world that Ingalls hints at for Larry is just strange enough to feel plausible and intriguing), and concentrate on what you want to happen. Like a good short story, too, this novella somehow conjures a really thought provoking, moving emotional narrative from its fantastical premise. This is despite the fact that Ingalls' prose is never excessive. She has a dry, comic tone that's a little detached and (imo) very charming. And the book surprised me, in the end. I think my next move might be to read it all over again. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Sexual assault, and Child death