felijhn's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Grief and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Animal cruelty
heini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
celey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Medical content, Gore, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Body horror
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Many challenging topics and ideas are explored in this book. It is all done very thoughtfully.danaslitlist's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
I cried for the entire second half of this book. Full body sobs with snot and all, and that’s the biggest endorsement I can give this book.
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Infidelity
tashtasher's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Sexism and Sexual content
bookmark3brodi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
memoirsofabooklover's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, and Alcohol
antoniav's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, and Grief
lillythebluepaladin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
WOW!!! This will in fact go down as a classic! That was a beautiful, emotional, and sometimes kinda hard read, and I seriously enjoyed it!
SUCH AN EASY 5🌟 BOOK REVIEW FOR THIS ONE! The writing? Stunning! The characters? So realistic! The story itself? Perfect. Finally booktok actually recommends something good, this and Achilles!
It is about a certain VERY well known play writer’s wife and family, but the most beautiful part about this book is that his name is never said. We really get to see the man who wrote the plays, and we really got to see into his badass wife’s mind, and heartbreakingly enough, we also really got to know every corner of their children’s personalities, and then something not-so-nice happens in the middle :(
Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Child abuse
Minor: Religious bigotry
lissybeth91's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Most of the reviews I've seen focus on the fact that Shakespeare's name is never used in this book, so as someone who has had a massive crush on the man for the past decade (I know I'm pathetic), I was worried that this book would be some sort of anti-Shax manifesto about how he was a horrible family man. But if you've had the same fear, rest assured... O'Farrell's characterization of him is by far the best I've ever seen. It truly felt like she knows the same man I do, and that was a beautiful thing.
But enough about him. Every single character is written with such sensitivity and real "humanity" that I feel as if I have lived in Stratford with them my whole life. I love every single one of them. Well. Okay, there are two that I hate, but even those two are written with understanding and grace. Beyond the characters, the words themselves are lyrical and stunning.
Read. This. Book
Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, Death, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism