Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall: (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) by Anne Brontë

29 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

🎉 I won this audiobook from a giveaway hosted by listenwithaudrey.

This is my first foray into Anne Brontë’s novels. I found the experience quite pleasurable. Perhaps it was the audiobook which made getting on with the story quite easy.

The story is told via letters and diary entries from Gilbert Markham to his friend. A young widow, Helen Graham, moves into a dilapidated manor, and Gilbert and his peers are naturally very curious about the mysterious tenant. As the story progresses, Gilbert finds himself fascinated by Helen and eventually learns more about her.

There’s a lot of historical nuance about the characters that a modern reader has a hard time understanding. The male characters come off as unpleasant and selfish, while the women, especially Helen, come off as passive and demure. A lot is said between the lines, so Audrey’s guide helps to catch those hints better than reading the book without such aid would.

The narrative shifts when Gilbert finally learns Helen’s secrets via her diary. The audiobook had previously been narrated by a man, and these sections are narrated by a woman. And that’s not all: the relationship between Gilbert and Helen is put on hold, and now we journey into Helen’s past. I’m not sure whether I liked the way this section was told; it sort of kicked me out of the main story and into a new one. 

All in all, this book had subtlety that is hard to achieve and perhaps also hard for modern readers to understand. If I compare this classic to some others I’ve read, this experience has been quite pleasurable, even though I think you need to be in a certain kind of mood to thoroughly enjoy this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

ereadsgothic22's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

pedanther's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kfergy's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexism

roache's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Alcohol

bpaxton's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense 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

this book is amazing! one that fully justifies its length (i promise). it was a great companion read to John Stuart Mill's Subjugation of Women because this book tackles the reality of marriage for women for much of history, focusing on their entrapment and restriction of freedoms as well as their humanity and reason. the writing style is often ironic and reminds me of Elizabeth Gaskell in places (although the vocab can be challenging at times). Anne Brontë was a woman who was strongly Christian which really shines through the characters and the themes but as long as that isnt a problem for you i think you ll lovs this book since the Christianity it shows was quite radical and subversive for the time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Alcohol

hphipps's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism