Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan

11 reviews

eala_said's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

What on earth did I just read? No seriously. Wtf. I went a bit up and down with this book, but over all I'd say it was a miss.

I found the structure really hard to get into because the chapters are really bitty, with some of the characters intentionally really incoherent because they're on drugs (Flora and William in particular). It's a choice I didn't like as opposed to lack of talent I suppose, do with that what you will.

Mostly I didn't get the point of this book (maybe it's just gone over my head idk), but the plot arc I found pretty boring and unfulfilling. There were some interesting characters and points, just overall I think that they could've been better articulated, or even gone more in depth with them. I didn't find any of the characters particularly inspiring except for maybe John (William's lover), which I did find a nice way to begin discussing asexuality, especially from within the gay community (would've like to see more than just like a couple paragraphs on this though, could also be described as having been written is as an afterthought). Most of the plot could probably be described as an afterthought tbh, because barely any of it is consequential, even to the sub-plots. I also couldn't get over the idea that these people are making a bit of a leap to connect their circumstance to the building, particularly in the earlier chapters. Like yeah *we* know that, but why does Levi think it's No. 10, and not the High street, or the city, or the country, or his flat in particular instead of the whole building.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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.

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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

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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

awaywiththefairies's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is dark, challenging and at the same time a brilliant read. It's unique and terrifying. A gorgeously terrifying story that speaks of a magical world but feels more mortal than anything. Its violent and cruel and stunning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Death and Death of parent

katiewhocanread's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Cannibalism

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, and Murder

rach22's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

It was an enjoyable read. I found it interesting exploring each character and the city of Edinburgh. However I ended the book quite confused. I what happened to Jessie wasn’t a mystery for the reader and it wasn’t obvious that she had cursed the building. It didn’t altogether make sense why we heard so many people’s stories throughout the book. Quite strange at points. Also nothing like what I expected from reading the blurb. Some stories within the book I definitely enjoyed more than others, some were kind of boring and weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: 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. 

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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

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.

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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

alisonannk's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt