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mondovertigo'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Racial slurs
tailwhip's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Gaslighting
amberjune's review against another edition
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
jrs_55's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs and Abortion
welsh_person's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
alma'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
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexism
Moderate: Medical content, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism
absolutive's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
"I have tried to be honest with you, although I suppose that you would really have been more interested in my not being honest. Some of these things happened and some were dreams. They are all true, as I understood truth. They are all real, as I understood reality."
The nihilism in this novel is a welcome antidote to the fairy tale of life that women and girls are told about husbands, children and meaning. In this novel, husband and brood are traps of unhappiness and emptiness, as they are in so much of Penelope Mortimer's fiction. I found this novel more cleverly constructed and literary than Daddy's Gone A-Hunting and Saturday Lunch With the Brownings, but those books were sharper and funnier with more devastating and pitch-perfect dialogue. This book left me sadder and colder, whilst those still laughing and engaged.
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion
A racist slur appears without warning and there are two examples of racist idioms.