Reviews

What an excellent read! This book was completely falsely advertised by my audiobook app as chick lit, comedy and mystery. Even the title is misleading. I can understand people not loving it if they're expecting a humorous mystery, and get the beautiful literary fiction about searching for one's roots and trying to unearth the dark past of a small Irish island community. The mystery may be the main plot point of the book, but it is not it's core. Caroline O'Donoghue's books have storylines that are so relatable, and for me in this one it was the strained friendship between the protagonist and her best friend. She described the awkward tension between them perfectly. I loved everything in this book.

God I love Caroline O'Donoghue's writing. Scenes of a graphic nature was my third book of hers this month and I'm craving for more. I'm even contemplating reading her YA fantasy series even though I dislike both YA and fantasy. She would probably make me love them too.

fricka's review against another edition

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2.0

Audio

kaddictwithapen's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

charlywarlywoo's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

bookstorian's review against another edition

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4.0

I wasn't 100% sure what I was in the mood for next, but after reading the first page of 'Scenes of a Graphic Nature' I was intrigued. There is just something so consuming and compelling about Caroline's writing and I'm really glad I have stepped into her back catalogue of work after reading The Rachel Incident last year.

Things I liked about the book:
- The experience of a young person with an unwell parent and how it can impact their living arrangements, ambitions and relationships.
-The setting (It initially felt a bit rom com, the mystical tourist island with a small knit community) and what connection to place looks like. Ireland as a setting made sense and I loved the exploration of how you can belong to a place even if you have never been.
-The moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the characters and why people keep secrets. I think this part of the story will stay with me for a long time.
-The tragedy and the aftermath of what happened to the island felt very real. It was also confronting to read as a teacher myself.
- Seeing the world and the story as it unfolded through Charlie's eyes. It kept me motivated to read as I wanted to find out what happened as she did.

What I didn't:
-Got a bit confused at times with the characters, their connections and motivations. There was a lot of people to keep up with.
-The relationship between Laura and Charlie. It was difficult to connect with this part of the story and I felt exasperated by the characters and their purpose in one another's lives.

Overall, I love Caroline's writing and how she blends genres. Think Sad Girl Novel cross mystery.

readingwithvic's review

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mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

streetmuseums's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

4.5

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