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rachelp's review against another edition
4.0
I was torn between giving this book three or four stars. I guess I would give it a 3.5, if that was an option. The story was told by Dolores, the youngest of six sisters. Her family is a Maltese family living in Wales. Her father is a chronic gambler and her mother is just trying to hold everything together. Dolores is replaying her family's story and trying to fill in the gaps.
internationalreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
I put this aside after just three chapters in two months. I may return to it but other books are calling more loudly right now.
tabbeycat123's review against another edition
1.0
I was not the biggest fan of this book. In the novel, Dolores Gauci tells her life story, growing up in Wales with a boderline abusive family with her four other siblings. She is only 3-5 years old. Each chapter kept getting sadder than the next. I was very suprised that her father Frank would go as far as to kill a man. If you think this is light-hearted and joyful from the cover, do not read this book. Probably good for adults but not for high school teens.
savidgereads's review against another edition
4.0
I'm quite particular about family dramas, I either love them or loathe them with little I between. This however I adored. The tale of the childhood of sisters brought up by a pair of runaway parents (one from Malta one from the valleys) is a wonderful, evocative and occasionally emotionally wrought tale that looks at the lives of the working classes and how the memories of children can be so different from the truth. Family secrets and twists galore, stunning writing. Bingo.
nickelini's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
aliglicks's review against another edition
2.0
Grim, depressing book about poverty, child abuse & gambling. Really disappointed with the ending,
rachelp's review against another edition
4.0
I was torn between giving this book three or four stars. I guess I would give it a 3.5, if that was an option. The story was told by Dolores, the youngest of six sisters. Her family is a Maltese family living in Wales. Her father is a chronic gambler and her mother is just trying to hold everything together. Dolores is replaying her family's story and trying to fill in the gaps.
ailsabristow's review against another edition
2.0
I studied this as part of course at uni: we were covering "contemporary literature" which involved having the writers (who just so happen to teach at UEA) coming and talking to us about a novel of their own, and a novel by another author that inspired them, although Trezza Azzopardi chose not to do this.
Anyway, although I found Azzopardi herself very interesting, and engaged with many of her ideas and themes (such as memory, reconstructing the past etc), I really struggled to stay involved with this book, especially in its second half, which at times feels like unneccessary exposition: laying bare all the subtly hinted at horrors of the first half, that could have been all the more powerful if they had just been left to stand alone.
Anyway, although I found Azzopardi herself very interesting, and engaged with many of her ideas and themes (such as memory, reconstructing the past etc), I really struggled to stay involved with this book, especially in its second half, which at times feels like unneccessary exposition: laying bare all the subtly hinted at horrors of the first half, that could have been all the more powerful if they had just been left to stand alone.