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rednikki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I generally bounce off books where all dialogue is paraphrased, but I was very interested in the period and the setting so I gave it a go. And man, I wish I had not. Most of the characters have very little personality, and they can be identified either by a skill or a deformity. (A couple of characters have Exactly One Quirk. Someone is very rude! Or someone is insane! Or someone is always very sweet! But only a few characters have a personality trait.) As a result, I mixed up the characters a lot.
The author lingered on gruesome death a lot. I get it, "it's 1183 and we're all barbarians!" (to quote The Lion in Winter), but it kind of felt like torture porn.
There were still interesting aspects to the book, and it would probably have been a 3.5 from me if it weren't for the last five pages.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War
fictionandfauna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
attolis's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
If you are interested in Lauren Groff's exploration of religion and queerness in a story about a French nun who empowers a poor nunnery in 1158, then this would be a good one to pick up but keep an open mind!
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
thewritebooks'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
Immediately after finishing this, having cried through the last 15 pages, all I could think about was the beautiful way that all of the themes came together at the end to tell a story of life and loss. We travelled through the role of medieval women in the church, female solidarity and sisterhood, sapphic love and desire, the cycles of the seasons and the catholic calendar, power and greed and the sin of creation, followed by the moral weighting of these sins against these women's souls.
The prose was never dramatic, and by avoiding direct speech throughout, the author adds to the feeling of being another witness to the years marching onwards at the Abbey. The messages in this book were very close to my heart and I would be interested in going back with tabs to track and analyse those themes a bit more, having the hindsight now to see how well they were laid out.
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Dementia, Death of parent, and Classism
water_and_shade's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Pregnancy
eliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took me 15h 21m technically, with the Libby app open whether or not I was actually reading.
I’ve never read a historical fiction book for me, and the beginning was a little slow. Once it picked up, the pace ebbed and flowed, and, I began to appreciate how beautifully it is written. So many passages that I want to keep and remember forever, the word choice and the poetic cadence of Lauren’s Groff’s writing is best described by a friend of mine as “delicious.” absolutely.
I love women and I’m so glad I read this book even though this book is way smarter than I will ever be. Gonna go finish weeping now.
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail
honeyvoiced's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
heydebigale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
CW: fairly graphic childbirth scene & death & child death
I especially loved the exploration of friendship between women, the comfort of the idea of creating a space without men, and the discussion of morality of sapphic relationships in the 12th century.
This idea that sapphic pleasure was below the notice of the church that there was nothing explicitly written about it? So of course Marie concluded that she does nothing “sinful” or “wrong” by receiving cunnilingus.
Also this idea that nuns are similar to witches… I really loved that.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Pregnancy
Graphic childbirth scene that results in the death of both the child and mothercareinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, War, and Injury/Injury detail