Reviews with content warning for Grief - This Must Be the Place

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell

9 reviews

eloisesal's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was too much. Too many characters, too many storylines, too many themes, too much drama... But somehow it worked, it's so beautifully written and devastatingly realistic despite the very unlikely things that happened. Maggie O'Farrell writes characters and relationships so well that it feels like your own life after a while. I did get frustrated sometimes: things that could have easily been resolved if two people just talked to each other, one of the last chapters being told from the pov of a totally new character with no relation to the plot... But then it ended up just making sense and I forgave it.

I could smell the cigarette smoke and fresh country air the whole way through.

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kdwhite's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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lauratoline's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

Another fabulous story of family from Maggie O'Farrell. Lovable but flawed characters who you will root for.

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lindsaybethlyons's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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maryannc's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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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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