Reviews tagging 'Outing'

La bibliotecaria di New York by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

5 reviews

just_one_more_chapter_ok's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The story world be a remarkable success story for any woman during the Gilded Age. It is truly amazing when you add in that she was African American and passing due to the lighter tone of her skin.  
The book was well researched and I believe the collaboration between the two authors made for a compelling and realistic telling of Belle's story..

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Colonisation, and Classism

bookcasey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Antisemitism, Grief, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Bullying, Slavery, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Classism

remie's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

erica_palmisano's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I'm not sure why I didn't connect with this book emotionally. The story certainly has lots of drama and tension baked in and seems quite well researched. I also appreciated the authors' notes about the inspiration and process of writing. I think perhaps the style of the book itself was just a mismatch for me. Too much dialogue (much of it flowery, as befits the period but still). There was a lot of overt exposition that I wish had been more deftly handled. I'd have preferred the narrative to flow over months and years without drawing so much attention to exact dates. And so often, I wondered: why draw an explicit conclusion when one could leave some mystery and room for doubt in characters' motivations? The narrative made all the subtext into text and thus had a didactic vibe. When comparing it to another book about a white-passing woman in "The Vanishing Half," which I read just a few months ago, I wished it had more the nuance of the latter. However, I'm not a big aficionado of historical fiction so perhaps that's me bringing my literary fiction expectations to a genre that has its own conventions. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Grief, Abortion, Outing, and Colonisation

jennneely82's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• 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

4.25

I enjoyed reading the story of Belle De Costa Greene, the personal librarian of Mr. J. P. Morgan. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Abortion, and Outing

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment