Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

15 reviews

flovntic's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Rape, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

risemini's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Racism

theabee's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse

eazurch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked this book, stayed up multiple evenings to finish it even. I like following Lila and Elena’s friendship over so many years and reading about all the interpersonal dynamics (while having the character list to refer back to).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

lucymhubbard's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense 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

Really interesting and you can’t stop reading it once you get into it, that being said it did take me about 100 pages to get into. There’s a ton of characters, which is confusing at first but by the end you are interested in all of them and their relationships with one another. Ended at a suspenseful point that really left me wanting more, so now I can’t wait to get the next book which I hope expands on the sort of romantic aspect of their relationship (unless I’m reading that dead wrong.) At certain points I wished the narrator was more self assured, but when she was more confident during the summer chapters I felt really happy for her. I think it is a really excellent portrayal of a super complicated friendship between two women. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic relationship

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

My Brilliant Friend is a highly regarded international treasure, focusing on a female friendship in 1950’s+ Naples. While I cannot relate to Elena (our narrator) in a environmental or physical sense, her connection with Lila embodies so much of my own relationships from adolescents to now. It’s resonance with readers spanning multiple years highlights Ferrante’s brilliant (haha see what I did there) ability to articulate the human experience, many events of which I am still trying to put together with words.
I cannot wait to continue on with the rest of the Neapolitan series, and Ferrante’s backlist in general.
After checking trigger warnings, I would highly highly recommend if you enjoy character based novels!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder

laurenleigh's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

This is one of those novels where there’s very little action, but there’s just something about it that engrossed me. A sign of very good writing, and an especially good translation! The way this narrator looks at the world is both unique and relatable. The part where the girls learn about the recent past and its atrocities (WWII, fascism, etc.) is really sticking out in my mind. I didn’t read in print, but there’s a poignant line about suddenly recognizing that every place and custom and institution is rooted in history from before your birth, for better or for worse. I can’t do it justice in a quick recap! I’d argue the 1950’s and 60’s are often mythologized here in America, and I found it fascinating to see a new perspective on that time period, in a more rural Italian setting. That these girls were in adolescence and had never been in a car! Wild. I don’t think I’m desperate to start the sequel right away, if at all, but I thought this novel was very well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Racial slurs

samirasbt's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Mental illness

hollsbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Violence