Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Notes On A Scandal

an excellently written story that weaves together a quite a lot of complicated subjects into what seems to be a mundanely indecent drama.
i loved the narrator’s voice and her inner monologues. i loved that all the characters are complex and three-dimensional. so much so that all of them, including the narrator, left me feeling conflicted about them, as did the whole story.

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

3.0

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whysoserious's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Fantastic novel about a hugely taboo subject. Heller is great at bringing her characters to life.
I found Barbara almost resembling a person with borderline personality disorder - her emotionality, her need to be needed. Added to this she is also rather self-centred, always thinking about herself and how her relationship with Sheba ultimately benefits her. At times I wanted to know where Barbara was going in the narrative she sets out and the ending tied this up nicely.

I do wish that we had a definitive outcome to this book; rather than this "what happened next?" outcome.

Sheba is almost delusional in her belief that the boy loved her, that she was going to get away with it and that she wasn't doing anything wrong. It was hard to feel sorry for her character though and not even because of her behaviours (which are bad enough). When confronted by the damage her behaviour may have caused, she simply blames other people for meddling in her life. Wow.

I give Steven a little more leeway as he is a child and is being guided by his genitals. I would have really loved to hear more from his perspective; Heller could easily have added a bit about the trial and his account of the whole tale. I wanted to know whether Sheba was leading him on more, manipulating and controlling him. It would really have added to the story if we got all accounts rather than Sheba's and Barbara's.

Richard is a bit drippy and I wish he would take control at points here. He barely stands up for himself and he at no point puts his foot down and says enough is enough. Their daughter Polly - whilst her behaviour makes sense - is a nasty little piece of work and poor Ben just seems to be along for the ride. We then have the weird head teacher and his inability to reflect and acknowledge any faults of his own or the school he leads. Sheba's mother needs a good slap too; hideous person.

I can't really think of a single character with any type of endearing quality which is the only reason it didn't get a ***** from me.

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