Reviews

Reproduction by Louisa Hall

Only show reviews with written explanations

soymagu7's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

A very original take on a motherhood tale. Gave me a lot to think about. Very speculative and lyrical

Content Warnings

playfulplatypus's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

I’ll start by saying that I don’t think I was the target audience for this book, so I understand that likely shapes my feelings about it. I enjoyed this read and even learned some things about pregnancy and the challenges therein. It was deeply reflective and provided some poignant thoughts on the particular pains someone with a uterus may face. Still, with all of the deep excavation of feelings and perspectives, I never felt like I really got to understand our main character’s driving motivation and that made me feel a degree of disconnection from her struggle.

Seriously, after so much trauma, why not go a different route? Adoption? Surrogacy, if the genetics are the real issue? Yes, these are expensive but so are repeated procedures to deal with failed pregnancies. Not to mention the risk of death and leaving her daughter without a mother. In the end, it seems she came to peace with the size of her family and let go of striving for more, so that was comforting.

Side note: I would love to read a story with Anna as the main character. That woman is fascinating and mysterious.

Content Warnings

ratstar5's review

Go to review page

emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.0

katmackie's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Spellbinding and incredibly creative. I’ve never read anything like this. Not an easy read, but I couldn’t put it down.

laurap's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

llvaralli's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

mcmorrdog's review

Go to review page

dark informative reflective sad fast-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

annafr's review

Go to review page

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

samanthatully's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

kimchifairy's review against another edition

Go to review page

Quirky, formally inventive, intriguing. The Frankenstein intertext - exploring the novel as a proxy for Mary Shelley's trauma around mothers and motherhood - is extremely well-trodden and has probably been much more convincingly explored elsewhere. A little bit bland, even clunky, at the sentence level. But the elements of body horror, against the backdrop of the Trump-era USA, and the strange, bleary perspectives on relationships, are enough to keep things interesting.

More...