Reviews

Adele by Leïla Slimani

cho_da_in's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

jisuoh15's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

2.0

snotboy's review against another edition

4.0

adele would love the show girls! a case of bodies having their own interests. i appreciate the way the author never explained too much or used backstory to simplify. it’s complicated and simple. it’s action and consequence.

draumur's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I'm sorry for Richard and I hate Adèle. I understand that she might be unhappy with her current life and she got married and had a kid because "she must", but there are other ways to change your life and be happy, cheating is not an option. Richard deserves better. Cheating can't be justified. Even though I might relate to her in a way, understanding her will to escape reality and her daily life, to be something more than just a woman with her stereotypical functions in society, this wasn't the right way to handle things.

I also didn't like obsession on russia throughout the book. 

eblouissance's review against another edition

4.0

if Madame Bovary & My Husband have a child ..

rsinclair6536's review against another edition

4.0

I never thought that a book that includes a lengthy episode of sexual assault of a woman by two men at her invitation would be one to which I could award so high a rating. The sexually adventurous Adèle is similar to characters who are representations of the worst and most-harmful-to-women male fantasies. But as I read this book with increasing alarm, I realized that Slimani has deftly positioned Adèle’s sexual exploits as an oddly safe harbor from the confines of traditional female roles – professional, matrimonial, and maternal – that she finds unbearable. Some women rant. Some work on policies. And some just look for another way to get by. Distraught but brave women like Adèle suffer in many ways for striking out against the roles they are expected to take. Her story bears witness to the physical and emotional consequences they often suffer for doing so. Her sexual life is not titillating. It’s an uncomfortable solution for one woman’s experience of the complexity and unfairness of modern life for women.

rotmusicbooks's review against another edition

2.0

2.5

emannuelk's review against another edition

3.0

Leïla Slimani escreve de uma forma muito refinada, com a elegância e o distanciamento cool que tornou famosa uma geração de escritores franceses no século passado. E o tema desse livro é um que me atrai em particular, é um olhar sobre as relações sociais que coloca o sexo no lugar proeminente que, a meu ver, deve ter. Dito isso, o livro me parece ter uma visão um tanto alienante sobre a condição de sua protagonista. Ela não é uma mulher que busca no sexo casual uma fuga de um casamento que a sufoque ou chateie ou algo assim. Ao mesmo tempo, não me parece ser alguém que simplesmente é viciada em sexo. A construção das fantasias dela poderiam ter se desenvolvido mais, embora, talvez, tirá-la dessa condição de "pessoa doente" pudesse ir num sentido mais psicológico do que essa prosa da autora buscasse. Seu sofrimento, seus dilemas, talvez sejam uma forma de refletir uma observação sobre a sociedade que não só julga negativamente a sexualidade feminina mas também tem na relação de casamento um laço de posse, uma forma de fundamento para a afirmação do marido enquanto macho. No entanto, fica difícil ver isso dentro do contexto e das personagens que aparecem aqui.

Spoiler

Em determinado ponto, próximo do fim, pensei que Adele e Richard chegariam a um acordo no qual ela poderia se satisfazer como bem entendesse e o marido encontraria aí também a concretização de uma fantasia sua, mas o livro acaba antes de chegar a isso.

O Final é um tanto abrupto, talvez para evitar trabalhar mais profundamente trabalhar uma resolução. O livro é bom, fácil de ler, apesar do conteúdo, mas poderia ter sido melhor se não tivesse se evitado tantas coisas.

si0180's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

lee_griffith's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75