Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

10 reviews

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Child death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

exhumedprince's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Grief, and Suicide

Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Classism, and Medical content

Minor: Child death and Self harm

jaren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, and Suicide

saltedsnail's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Suicide, Death of parent, Mental illness, Animal death, Self harm, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Child death

annaki_laila's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• 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

2.5

A gothic novel that forgets it's  supposed to be a gothic novel. The first third is promising, the supernatural elements begin to appear and the suspense is there. Then halfway through, the narrator swiftly becomes unlikeable as he initiates a relationship with one of the main characters (with an age gap of over a decade and some generally uncomfortable vibes). The relationship should've been a subplot at most, but it begins to take up far too many pages, and as it continues the narrator just gets more and more selfish and irritating. I began skim-reading some parts at this point because there were so many pages of stuff that was annoying and unrelated to the whole supernatural plot. Having finished the book now, I can safely say that the relationship being romantic was unnecessary. Whatever overarching points about class were being made (which weren't as strong as I thought they'd be based on the blurb anyway) could've been made with the relationship being purely platonic. Anyway!! Rant over, save your time and probably just don't read this book, or read it with lowered expectations, because it really doesn't contain much 'gripping' or 'chilling' content like the blurb describes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual assault and Racial slurs

angielisle's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Racial slurs

digitalroses's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Grief, Suicide, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: War, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, and Cursing

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit

nell's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm honestly not sure what I think of the story. The movie was pretty boring, so I thought I'd give the audiobook a try, largely because I always enjoy Simon Vance's unparalleled performance.
The book isn't quite as dull as the movie, but the character of the Doctor is so fundamentally unlikeable and judgemental that I don't trust him as the narrator. His objectives are questionable at best, malicious at worst -

but we never know either way

.
So I did enjoy the book, I suppose. But it's not one I'll ever read again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death and Child death

angelicathebookworm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The writing style is beautiful, and the images created within the text make the reader’s ability to immerse themselves into the setting—and the story as a whole with all its twists and surprises—quite easy. The setting of Hundreds Hall, in particular, is so intricately described that during the course of the narrative it becomes a character within its own right. Waters’ blend of the supernatural and the psychological adds to the eerie and unsettling atmosphere present throughout this historical Gothic novel. There were a handful of creepy moments within the narrative which makes it a great read for this time of year.

If you’re looking for a quick read then this may not be the book for you. I found this novel to be more of a slow burner, which I didn’t mind, but it did lose it’s pacing in sections. It’s important to note that the ending is more ambiguous than definite and obvious which I liked but I know not every reader would enjoy it. I wasn’t really keen on the romantic subplot of the narrative, partly because I wasn’t invested in the lives of the characters involved.

For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/ 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Death