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caitlin_123a'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
qqjj's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
maggiemcfly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Stalking, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
zosiablue'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
rad_reads_123'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Infidelity, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
lcg527's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Hate crime, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
jacs63's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Best read of the year for me, so far.
Totally deserves all the nominations and rewards.
The writing is exquisite.
A tragic and heartbreaking, historical love story, on so many different levels of love.
The characters are flawed but loveable. The story is so....real.
As Cushla says at one point...'This is going to end badly...' and you know it will.
It's doomed from the start. The age gap, the different religions, the troubles in Ireland, he's married with a child....and a serial adulterer. The decisions you make. The coincidences. The lies and deceit.
It made me feel guilty that, as someone of recent Irish descent- 3 generations back-I haven't tried to read more about the 'Trouble in Ireland'. I am out to find some good books to read now. I lived in the UK till 1974 so I remember a fair bit.
Couldn't put it down once I started it.
I hope Louise Kennedy writes more books soon.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
lostinthelibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
But this book is only partly about that. It is also about relationships, family dynamics and the unfair position working class people and women were put into during this era. While few characters were likeable, their actions made sense amongst the setting and the writing was very evocative of the era.
There were a few things that bothered me along the way in the writing (please use speech marks, it's pretentious not to) and the plot (wanting to shake Cushla throughout) but overall a very positive reading experience that provided a great discussion for our book club.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Classism