Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

67 reviews

elevent11's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment

haleypages's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

This book was incredibly atmospheric and felt like an amalgamation of One Day and Where the Crawdads Sing. It was a slow start, but then I sank into it fully. It is so clear that the author has deep knowledge and love for the cape, and it seeps out of the pages. However, the event halfway through the book, that really defines the protagonist's adult life, felt so rushed and happened in a page and a half. Although I understand it wasn't the event itself, but the ramifications that were the center of the book, it was jarring how little page time was spent on the event itself.

Overall, I really fell in love with Elle and her struggles (it was especially nice to see literally fiction in which the protagonist is a wonderful mother), and I enjoyed the complicated relationships in the novel, and that not every important conversation was had.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Death, Infertility, and Terminal illness

jakirby's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment

chaos_and_chapters's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child death, Death, Incest, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

sazzzberry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

abbiekwilliams's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Incest, Infertility, and Terminal illness

lavienne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, and Abandonment

tessroth's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

Had this one on the shelf for a while. The author made me feel like I was at a cabin in the woods in summertime, which I enjoyed. Subject matter high key dark though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Death

Minor: Miscarriage and Terminal illness

kelsharr's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Rape

Moderate: Death and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Terminal illness

jessiehg's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

In a lot of ways it’s great
- the time cuts exploring a similar theme across generations are so close to being too obvious and trite, but there’s enough complexity and difference that they work well
- the characters verge on 1 dimensional, but they’re also not overwritten which I’m grateful for
- Elle’s motivations and the deep rippling effects of her childhood on her choices are very well done, as is the reasoning (absolution) behind the affair finally occurring
- the end will bother some, but I think it was the only option 
- I saw most things coming, but you could take that as well constricted and neat rather than obvious

There’s something here about starting in a simplistic idea of lifelong longing finally acted upon, and then simultaneously strengthening the reader’s belief in that “cosmic connection” and (through an unreliable narrator) revealing flags of the flawed, bad (but not in the way they think they are!) people who would in reality not ride off into the sunset but likely hurt each other like all partners do. Jonas is a dick to his wife, Elle is obviously coping with her mistakes and explores those things (eg lying, distance to husband). 

Once I hit about halfway I found it difficult to put down. I was deeply affected. But I didn’t LOVE it. 

This may be better on screen than on paper - what verges on flat in the book could be fleshed out with great acting.

It helped me to keep reminding myself that this is my parent’s generation, and in a lot of ways her reactions are very well written for that.

Starting this book in the affair and love triangle is indicative of the target audience. The average airport/rom com reader wants empty longing and sex as a hook to then become invested in the real story. Personally, the real story is what it took for me to give any amount of shits about the affair. An understandable and commercially wise choice, but not to my liking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty and Terminal illness