Reviews tagging 'Death'

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

9 reviews

laurenleigh's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

What an interesting play of genres, blurring the lines between fiction and non. Similar to Devil in the White City, it reminds me that history is indeed a story we tell or are told. The parallels between Civil War era and today’s America are striking and concerning. There’s an opening Lincoln quote here about how we should fear the dictator, we should fear the mob, but we should really fear when both the dictator and the mob are on the same side. That one is sticking with me. This book’s plot isn’t always terribly exciting or action-packed, but I really enjoyed the reading process. The family dynamics were interesting and often hilarious. Truth sometimes is stranger than fiction!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

betsyhokamp's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Slavery, and War

Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, Slavery, War, Violence, Mental illness, and Child death

mysterymom46's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, and War

Minor: Ableism and Sexual violence

Spoiler

several mentions of mobs and rioting; bigamy

amykwrites's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, and Blood

ghoulscoutcamp's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, and Child death

Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, War, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

oceanwriter's review

emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

5.0

When I first saw the cover of this book, I wondered why a book about John Wilkes Booth would don imagery of flowers and birds. I never thought much of the name 'Booth' past John Wilkes. I never questioned where he came from. It wasn't until I was over halfway through the book that it occurred to me that the Booth Theatre in New York is named for Edwin Booth, let alone the two had any relation. Even though this is a fictionalized take on the Booth Family, I learned a great deal.

I'm a sucker for slower-paced, character-driven historical fiction like this. The story mostly centers on Rosalie, Edwin, and Asia. They all have distinct personalities and perspectives that make the story rich from start to finish. The writing is lovely and sad rolled into one. I liked Rosalie the best with Edwin not too far behind. Lincoln is also inserted throughout the story, though it is usually brief. It adds a good build-up to his fate.

I do wish that authors would refrain from inserting modern-day politics at the end of books — especially in fiction which this book ultimately is. I've complained about this in too many book reviews these past two years and I'm weary of it. I'm sure I'm not only speaking for myself when I say that I read to escape current events. Nothing spoils a book I so thoroughly enjoy quicker than a politically charged author's note whether I agree with what's being said or not. I will not deduct a star from this as at least the story itself remained intact, but I can only wish that authors would consider the type of alienation these messages bring on. In my experience, it almost always ends up being hypocritical to the content.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Infidelity, Slavery, and Racism

Minor: Chronic illness and Animal cruelty

jessgreads's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜

Title: Booth

Author: Karen Joy Fowler

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Maryland, USA

Month Read: April 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher:  G. P.  Putnam's Sons

Pages: 470

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING- 

Death / Harassment / Murder / Treason / Alcoholism / Neglect 

"This is a good reminder that no one in the world is a reliable source for their own story."

No Spoiler Summary:

Booth is a multi-generational tale of the Booth family, starting with Junius Brutus Booth and his family in England, and working their way to America, where Junius and his wife have several children, including the most infamous Booth, John Wilkes Booth. The book takes you through the generations, ultimately leading you up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and a little beyond as you follow John's siblings.

Review:

I'm SO glad I listened to the amazing reviews for this and added it to my last box. I think this book was absolutely incredible, if slow at times, and I loved getting to learn about a period of history I like a lot, but from a vastly different perspective than I thought I was getting myself into. The most incredible part about this book is that it's not told from John Wilkes Booth's perspective, which I sort of assumed it would be in- but mostly his siblings in a split narration. 

The amount of research that seemed to have gone into making this book must have been SO much work. I constantly felt like I was *right there* in Maryland, in California, in Panama- during each year, and in each different character's eyes. It was absolutely amazing how real it all seemed, especially for a 470 page book. 

I really loved the characters, and watching them grow from small children into adults was very cool to me. Each child was so distinctive in their narrations, you never had to turn back to see who was speaking in each chapter, and I really appreciated that because you don't always get that in a book that has several different narrators that switch POV's pretty frequently. 

I also loved that you sort of know the huge huge plot point, but you weren't necessarily just waiting for that one thing. There was so much else in this book to keep you occupied, it didn't really matter how long it took to get to the assassination, because you were so engrossed in the rest of the stories being told simultaneously. I don't want to give anything away, but the drama was *high* on and off the stage for most of the book. As an actor, I also really loved how accurate the stage and acting elements were in this book. I was surprised to see how famous the Booth family was for acting, because you don't really learn that anywhere else. 

I would highly recommend picking this up if you're a fan of historical fiction, split POVs, or if you're into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It was such an interesting story, and really different from a lot of historical fiction out there lately. 

See more reviews at: https://jessgreads.wixsite.com/website

"In his speech, he warns of two possible threats to the republic. The first is found in the lawless actions of the mob, the second in the inevitable rise someday of an aspiring dictator. The greatest peril will come if the mob and the dictator unite."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Racism, Slavery, Murder, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Infidelity

Minor: Ableism, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Classism, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

nadia's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-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

4.0

A big part of me eventually giving this book 4 stars is to do with me having read it knowing nothing of its subject matter - a combo of me not reading the blurb or the publisher’s letter in the beginning pages and me not knowing certain details about a particular part of history… 

I went into it with such high hopes, after having uncharacteristically filled out the form to receive an ARC, because I remember enjoying We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves several years ago.

However for a lot of it, I felt it was rather slow and I didn’t get what the point was.

By the end, everything made sense!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, Violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Gun violence, Alcoholism, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Homophobia

sjanke2's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

 I'm so enjoying fiction's latest focus on the families surrounding history's (in)famous men: William Shakespeare's wife in Hamnet, Johannes Kepler's mom in Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch, and now John Wilkes Booth's siblings.

Between my fondness for this literary structure and my obsession with Abe Lincoln (we share a bday), I should have loved this book. My high expectations for this novel dwindled over its ~500 pages as I read repeatedly about the Booth brothers' theatrical success, their drinking, and their silly life-threatening travels. I had to remind myself that this is not a novel about John Wilkes Booth; it's about his family. But his family was melodramatic and frankly put me to sleep on many occasions. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Colonisation, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Infidelity, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and War