Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Children's Bach by Helen Garner

6 reviews

chsm8's review against another edition

reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, and Abandonment

katy_bee's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.25

I just didn't connect with this one at all. In all fairness I was reading to a deadline as it's a bookclub pick and I don't think it's the right book to be picked up and read in snatches between other things. 

I found it the post modern writing style without speech marks and jumping around to different scenes and characters without context  difficult to follow. That's not the end of the world but I also found the story and the characters dreary. Just very little to connect to. I didn't love the portrayal of the disabled child either. He felt very much as arm through the eyes of others as an oddity and a burden. I appreciate honest and sensitive portrayal of the impact on families of caring for a child with complex needs but this missed the mark for me on that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment

carlytenille's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

djbobthegirl's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

reflective 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

Rumaan Alam’s excellent foreword is what convinced me to read this book, which features incredible writing by locally-obscure Australian master Helen Garner.  Set in the 1980s, it shows its age only in a few instances concerning behaviors which are no longer widely socially acceptable (i.e., ableism, racism, sex with a minor).  That aside, it is a thoughtful novel which uses music as motif to explore the stumbling dance of “modern life.”  It begs the question, What makes someone a good person or a bad one?  With nuanced characters and complicated relationships, this is the product of a practiced hand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Infidelity and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Violence

becgoldsmith's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Vomit