Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

11 reviews

carminhomarrana's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kappafrog's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love the idea behind this book of fleshing out what Tan Yuxian's life might have been like. This was rich with historical details. I really appreciated how See struck a balance between making the female characters in a deeply patriarchal world sympathetic while not being afraid to show the ways they perpetuated many of their culture's harmful practices against women. While this did make the protagonist less likeable the older she got, I still found it a compelling story. We as modern readers (rightly) find footbinding disgusting, but it was reality for centuries of women in China, and See did a good job exploring the realities of how women had to cope with that system.

At the core of this book is the way communities of women in Ming China could band together to support each other, and that made for a very good read. I'd also note that the relationship between Meiling and Yanxian came across as pretty sapphic, with Yanxian frequently struck by Meiling's beauty. I thought it was realistic that they didn't pursue a relationship, but I felt like the romantic aspect between them was an important part of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, and War

gallexi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Alcoholism

Foot-binding is described graphically and repeatedly.

Smallpox pandemic with deaths

elliek_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Abortion

defiantturtle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Infertility, Rape, and Murder

missbrookss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ariellovespizza's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, and Classism

loxeletters's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was a pleasure to read, and I finished it quickly. Having previously read and loved See's Snow Flower, it was interesting to see the differences and parallels between the two books.

I adored the friendship between Yunxian and Meiling, though it didn't feel as deep or strong as in the other book. Of course, the focus of this one was quite different! Seeing the world as described by a woman brought-up in a wealthy family was certainly interesting, and I enjoyed the poetic language the protagonist used due to her upbringing. Yunxian could be frustrating as a character, seen mostly in her treatment of Meiling, but I felt she grew quite nicely. The entire topic of her medicine was fascinating. Some aspects (the concubines, especially) were infuriating to read about, yet felt realistic and true to the time. The mystery aspect surprised me pleasantly and, after I had seen one twist towards the beginning of the book coming, I was later absolutely surprised by other twists that were set up masterfully. 
The ending gave quite a generous amount of pages to tying up various plotlines, which almost felt *too* simple, but the postscript revealed new questions which left me with much to think about.

Sometimes I felt I had to put the book down to give my mind time to process all the things that were happening quite quickly - especially with the large time skips between each of the four sections. However, I feel this speaks more to the extreme readibility which made me devour the book in essentially four long sittings than detract from its quality.
While I think I would have liked to see some more development in the relationships that weren't with her family, I enjoyed this book greatly and look forward to reading more of See's work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

emmelinelike's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Abortion