Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

14 reviews

mdwsn27's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

abitterknitter's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, 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

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

jackiejae's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

Well-written but the subject matter was not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

softboiledegg's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-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

This book is a beautiful description of the timeless strength of female friendship and confidence.

For much of my life I felt alone, but over the years a circle of women came to love me and I came to love each of those women in return.

Every girl -- no matter how small-minded or unfortunate -- had a mother who nursed and cared for her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

etherealskies's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Cancer and Suicide

savheath's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Torture

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism