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readingbrb's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Moderate: Racial slurs and Trafficking
lindseyhall44's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked Romance in Marseille up on a whim, and I am extremely grateful that I did. This novel was so intriguing, both in its flowery writing and dark content. As a classic, it was evidently ahead of it’s time, as it follows black, queer and physically disabled characters during the historical era of ensalvement, while candidly discussing sexuality and prostitution, and other taboo topics of the time. I loved seeing this representation in classic literature, and urge everyone to pick up Romance in Marseille.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder
yozhik's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It was alright. Maybe I'm not big-brained enough to understand the subtleties and nuance of the book but I felt it was an incredibly bland writing style. Book was advertised to be "overtly queer" two side characters were mentioned to be gay. So what. Author despised xenophobia but writes xenophobic passages against Arabs and Jews for funsies.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Trafficking
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Torture and Antisemitism
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