Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan

13 reviews

georgiesutton's review against another edition

3.5

I thought this sounded intriguing. I liked the glimpses into the different lives in Lukenbooth Close but I did find the plot a little lacking. This was only a problem as I really really didn't care for some of the characters (William - what was the point of his chapters?) whereas others I loved. This was almost more like short stories in that regard. It was a bit spicier than I expected! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

theninth's review against another edition

challenging inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The format of this novel is really cool (one person per decade who gets 3 chapters and they all live in the same apartment building) but it's also disappointing because you don't get a lot of time with each character. Some I found less interesting and some could have gotten their own book. But I liked the variety in characters and the topics that were adressed. Sometimes the messaging felt a little too heavy-handed though. There is kind of an overarching story, which is a bit at odds with the smaller stories (they are mostly about the historical period but now and then the devil's daughter shows up), but if you accept that and are not looking for a story that is purely grounded in reality but has magical realism (?), it is very fun. Also very atmospheric descriptions of Edinburgh that made me want to visit again.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War

Minor: Domestic abuse

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

frogggirl2's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

The disjointed, fractured writing style is jarring and interrupts the flow of each narrative (and the book as a whole).  I know this book thinks it's high-art literary fiction, but, it just reads like unrelated short stories told by someone who likes very short sentences and very long lists.   Seriously, I have never seen a book with this many lists of random shit.  Pretentious and underwhelming. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, and Murder

beccajdb's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Dating, yes. Transgressive, yes. But also surprisingly tedious after a while. The clunky injections of historical research and period set-dressing make it infuriatingly choppy. The William Burroughs chapters are the worst - they read like someone showing off. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

egmamaril's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content

wrackcity's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness

bookshelf_of_jess's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

lexa_oxford's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is a really interesting one where the house is practically a main character itself, and we follow its multiple tenants across a century. I found some of the stories much more engaging than others, and almost wished that a couple of the stories had been cut to expand on the ones that really told an over-arching message which Fagan really wanted to get across. Also she did a lot of telling rather than showing, which I felt was a shame.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Child death and Alcohol

Minor: Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia