Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

10 reviews

jennaviolet's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this but it was a slog. There were funny moments but switching POVs to rehash the same information was too much, and

I was not rooting for Maude and Susan to end up together after both betraying each other

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Classism

heckin_hello's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I understand why this book is considered a romance, but in my opinion the main story is a story about thieves and morally grey individuals with a subplot of romance.

I found this book hard to work through, if I'm honest. You could probably cut out 100 pages in the middle of the story and not significantly affect it overall. I was shocked by how unlikable literally every single person was as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder

maddramaqueen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Alcohol

ranbara's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So facking good. What can I say.

It made me giddy. It made me blush, worse than before. It was like liquor. It made me drunk. I drew away. When her breath came now upon my mouth, it came very cold. My mouth was wet, from hers. I said, in a whisper,
'Do you feel it?'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, and Racial slurs

punchofwishes's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

What a read! This book alternated between having me firmly in its grasp and leaving me bored 100 pages at a time. The twists are interesting and the plot compelling even if the characters aren’t as much. It’s a difficult read that I am glad to have experienced even if it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

clovelatte's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

mullemit's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

4.0

I normally shy away from characters motivated by parental legacies or over-identification, but I feel like (with only a few melodramatic moments’ exception) this book did an excellent job, telling a story of identity and of being a woman in Victorian England. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism and Animal death

sherbertwells's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

3.0

“My name, in those days, was Susan Trinder” 

When the leader of my local GSA suggested reading Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, her one-word pitch was “Dickensian.” After reading the book, I find this comparison less than apt: what makes a book “Dickensian” in the first place? The weird names? The reversals of fortune and revelations of inheritance? The emphasis on morality? Fingersmith has all of those and more.

But despite his authorial virtues, Charles Dickens could not have written Fingersmith for the simple reason that it’s too gay for his Vicotrian sensibilities. The novel’s premise—an experienced criminal named “Gentleman” recruits a naïve girl for the con of a lifetime—is a mere tchotchke in Dickens’ wheelhouse. But none of his corseted (albeit progressive) stories would allow Susan Trinder and Maud Lilly to fall in love. Nor would they be written from Sue’s earnest, slangy first-person perspective. The credit for this style belongs entirely to Sarah Waters, the Welsh novelist who has made queer historical fiction her bread and butter.

Known for sapphic Victorian adventures like Tipping the Velvet and Affinity, Waters expands on the best aspect of Dickens: his combination of humor and empathy. Her characters, especially Sue and the maternal fence Mrs. Sucksby, are surprisingly nuanced and she includes lots of writerly flourishes that make the reading experience enjoyable. Take the scene where Gentleman teaches Sue how to “dress” a chair:

“He squatted at the side of the chair and smoothed his fingers over the bullying skirts; then he dipped his hand beneath them, reaching high into the layers of silk. He did it so neatly, it looked to me as if he knew his way, all right; and as he reached higher his cheek grew pink, the silk gave a rustle, the crinoline bucked, the chair quivered hard upon the kitchen floor, the joints of its legs faintly shrieking. Then it was still” (34)

Sexy, right?*

Besides the desire for queer representation, the main draw of Waters’ books is their author. Like Dickens, Sarah Waters is a brand—but not one I’m terribly interested in buying. Fingersmith is a fun story but not a particularly great one.

If you grew up on Six of Crows and are ready for something more adult or are a Useless Lesbian™ looking for a heroine like yourself, you might enjoy Fingersmith or the rest of Waters’ catalog. Her books are cool. They’re twisty. They’re gay as heck.

But don’t call them “Dickensian.”

*I have no idea if this is sexy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

Mrs. Sucksby runs a "baby farm," a Victorian business that cares for babies and occasionally sells them.

davidbowie's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

marionhoney's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-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: Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion