Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell

17 reviews

abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

If you’re looking for your next engaging family drama (heavy on the drama) then may I suggest Maggie O’Farrell’s This Must Be The Place? This was my fifth of O’Farrell’s works and my second favourite so far after Hamnet. It follows a wide cast of characters across several intertwined families, touching on things like fame, divorce, infidelity, forgiveness, with plenty of skeletons in closets! The two main characters are Claudette and Daniel, but we hear from basically all the ‘supporting characters’ in their lives - however briefly their lives might have intersected. For the most part this works really well, I love seeing different facets of a character revealed by a different view point. But there was one chapter near the end where I think O’Farrell got a bit carried away, including too much detail from a minor character’s life which muddied things a bit - preparation for a different novel perhaps? The insight into her process for this novel at the end was fascinating, as she wanted to take the linear narrative and chop it up, which she does, but it’s still very easy to follow I thought! Her writing is clear, engaging and emotive, and I found myself devouring huge chunks at a time. I think it’s a good one to read if you’re feeling slumpy, as it’s got that addictive quality!
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alice2000's review

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hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

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abbeysoffel's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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sarah_eggleton's review against another edition

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

3.5

I expected to me more gripped by this book, I particularly care about the main characters as much as I did the side characters. It made me laugh and is wonderfully descriptive, but I think having so many perspectives didn’t leave enough time to get fully invested in the main characters stories 
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womanwill's review against another edition

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

4.25

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wordswithjustine's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! I will write a review after my book club talks it over.
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