Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Tender is the Night

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Godden, Arnold Goldman

11 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

Writing: 4.25⭐️/5

A well-crafted, well-controlled novel. Fitzgerald is a master of prose when it comes to pairing life’s finest luxuries with those who least deserve it. At many intervals, I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the writing. At a few moments, the writing seemed to hold the plot back a bit, adding little to the story or character, and seemed to exist to be beautiful without substance. Overall, a fine read.

Characters: 4.25⭐️/5

The characters in this novel are not all (or always) good or moral people. But they are fascinating. I thought Dick Diver was missing a little something – substance, motive, characterization – and yet he was still interesting to read. Nicole Diver was a fascinating creature, as was Rosemary. Both women were deeply described and written with good depth. I think I also would have loved a bit extra from Nicole’s family, to fully understand both Nicole and Dick’s turmoil and relationship.

Plot: 4⭐️/5

The plot is really there to support the characters, and yet I still wish a little more occurred throughout the novel. Don’t get me wrong, the writing and characters made up for the lack of plot, but I would’ve loved the drama that followed Rosemary at the beginning to weave thoroughly throughout the novel. Instead, it disappeared, and the characters took the main stage.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald

Content Warnings?

Mental illness, murder, incest, gun violence, alcoholism, child abuse, racism, racial slurs, adult/minor relationship, psychosis, ableism, death of parent, sexual assault, homophobia, sexism, misogyny, police brutality, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, infidelity

Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5

Fascinating.

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

Content Warnings

marageorge's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

janwe's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

marensorber's review against another edition

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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

3.5

Content Warnings

tinathedrifter's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Content Warnings

bookish_5280's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This book started off incredibly. I love the first 100-150 pages or so. And then, a whole bunch of problematic elements appear (

pedophilia, incest, etc) as well as blatant racism. I can appreciate the role of some of these elements in other books (not racism, to be clear), such as pedophilia or incest, and they appear as main themes in books that I love. But my problem with this book, in contrast to ones like Lolita or The Color Purple, is that there is not enough focus on the childhood trauma (I think there is one main chapter that discusses it).

I just thought that it could have been much more emotionally affecting and beautiful on a deeper level. I see the potential appeal, but even with the ending (which I did like), it is still not going to go on my favorites list.

Content Warnings