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kirsten_marie's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Murder
n0elle's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
gingerale06's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
broccoli_mmm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Some of the most beautiful prose Ive ever read:
“How can one bathe without undressing, or write without laying bare one’s soul”
UGH because the words are so pretty and the 1st half felt like it was pulled directly from my brain but also the actual plot is very not okay today. Def check the tws but its so so good.
“How can one bathe without undressing, or write without laying bare one’s soul”
UGH because the words are so pretty and the 1st half felt like it was pulled directly from my brain but also the actual plot is very not okay today. Def check the tws but its so so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Adult/minor relationship
The first half of this book has some of the best prose I’ve ever read: “How can one bathe without undressing, or write without laying bare one’s soul” (chef’s kiss) About halfway through, things start to feel predatory, which took away from my enjoyment of it. But again, the first half is absolutely brilliant and the way she writes about (lack of) religion, queer awakening, and sapphic longing feels like it was ripped straight from my brain. Worth reading, but be warned and read the TWsslxtty_academia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Pedophilia and Toxic relationship
laurareads87's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-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
3.0
"I have condensed into a few score of pages ... the year when I first became conscious of myself, of love and pleasure, of death and pain, and when every reaction to them was as unexpected, as amazing, as involuntary as the experience itself."
I read Olivia for a book club; I am glad it was chosen. I found myself entirely swept away by the writing, and read it in two short sittings. I most appreciate the writing's sheer beauty -- I found myself, at times, marveling at a particular sentence. The author has certainly captured the overwhelming, urgent, and dramatic feeling of a young teenager's first love and the internal struggles and uncertainties that go along with that. Where I struggled with this book, though, is that I found myself much more interested in the background of the story -- particularly the relationships between the different teachers and the running of the school -- than in the foreground of Olivia's emotions. I was interested in the strongly implied romantic relationship, likely past, between the headmistresses, and their comings and goings between Paris and the school, but having all of this filtered through the lens of a young, rather immature narrator with a far from complete picture of what was going on was, for me, less than ideal. I recommend this book for those interested in lesbian classic literature.
I read Olivia for a book club; I am glad it was chosen. I found myself entirely swept away by the writing, and read it in two short sittings. I most appreciate the writing's sheer beauty -- I found myself, at times, marveling at a particular sentence. The author has certainly captured the overwhelming, urgent, and dramatic feeling of a young teenager's first love and the internal struggles and uncertainties that go along with that. Where I struggled with this book, though, is that I found myself much more interested in the background of the story -- particularly the relationships between the different teachers and the running of the school -- than in the foreground of Olivia's emotions. I was interested in the strongly implied romantic relationship, likely past, between the headmistresses, and their comings and goings between Paris and the school, but having all of this filtered through the lens of a young, rather immature narrator with a far from complete picture of what was going on was, for me, less than ideal. I recommend this book for those interested in lesbian classic literature.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Death
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death
olivetree614's review against another edition
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
4.5
This book does everything it sets out to do and more! I honestly didn't expect to receive such a reflective period after the main characters have their affair--and I love that this is provided. The story holds a central relationship, but the "romance" (of sorts) works as a metaphor. I love a good whole-story metaphor. This story is short but packs a punch. It forced me to relive my first love and healed bits of my heart where I didn't know the stitching needed replacement. 4.5/5 (b/c the ending makes me mad & annoyed, but it does what it does).
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Vomit
sherbertwells's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A girl reflects on her adolescent infatuation with teacher and its deadly consequences. A slightly more melodramatic (and sapphic) version of Stefan Zweig’s Confusion, i.e. fun, artsy and snappy but not particularly profound for this asexual.
“I think the passion that devoured me at that time was the passion of curiosity. Once, as I was watching her like this, she suddenly opened her eyes and caught me. Her glance held me for a moment, and I was too fascinated to look away. Her glance was piercing, not unkind but terrifying. She was searching me. What did she see?” (31)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death
Minor: Medical content, Suicide, and Murder
The relationship between Olivia and Mlle Julie is thankfullysalome_esteves's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I don't think I know what to say... I looked forward to reading this book for so long... But now I'm a bit disappointed. The writing is beautiful, as I was expecting, but I thought the plot was a bit problematic. Of course Olivia (which is one of my favorite names) would be a overly dramatic teenager, but I wasn't expecting comparable behaviour from Mlle Julie. I also think her attitude towards some of the students, including our protagonist, was inappropriate for a teacher. Or maybe that's too 21st century of me to think.
If you are planning to read "Call me by your name", which was inspired by this novel, please read "Olivia" before and not after, like I made the mistake to do.
If you are planning to read "Call me by your name", which was inspired by this novel, please read "Olivia" before and not after, like I made the mistake to do.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death