Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Du bout des doigts by Sarah Waters

22 reviews

naiu_cs's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

3.5

It was quite exciting, even though it sometimes seemed to be dragged on for longer than was really necessary for the plot or the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jayisreading's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

2.25

I certainly am not the first person to have picked this book up because they enjoyed The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan-wook. And, with that said, I have to admit that I actually didn’t enjoy Fingersmith as much as I thought I would. For one, I was expecting something far more fast-paced. Instead, I found myself slogging through long and slowish-paced chapters. When the twists came, it heightened the story a bit and grabbed my attention. However, the chapters in-between those twists didn’t feel particularly engaging.

Waters isn’t a bad writer by any means, but I felt that there was a lack of character development that would have gotten the reader more invested. Things happened to Maud and Sue, but… that’s really it. They reacted to certain events, but there wasn’t any significant development in their characters that made it feel this book was worth reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault

surelyinthefountain's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It's good! The prose is lush and descriptive. There's this moody, claustrophobic feeling that the writing does so well -- you really get the sense that everyone's got a predestined role to play with little real agency as they rattle on towards their ultimate fates. Fortune feels like a character, and that's pretty neat.
There's a lot of content in here that's uh...pretty triggering, to say the least. Thematically, the book is in no small part about trauma -- its effects, its consequences, etc. -- so it kind of needed to be so. I don't think Waters ever goes gratuitous with it, either. But yeah, the forced institutionalization stuff in here is no joke.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia

katewhite77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

You are instantly transported back to a world of 18th century petty criminality. vilany and tretchery. 

i don't think I have read a book with quite so many twists and turns. Where the lines between good and evil are so blured.

This is the most harrowing novel I have read in a very long long time most notably with regards to 18th century attitudes to women and mental health.

That said though. I am so glad I made it to the end as it is a sublime novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

Far too slow for me. Unnecessary or repetitive details made this fascinating tale completely uninteresting.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

filmscore's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

elinthenilsson's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

emfass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Religious bigotry

davidbowie's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

4.0

This book is so Dickensian, I kept forgetting that it wasn’t written during the 1800s. Sarah Waters is a phenomenal writer—no surprise she’s been shortlisted for the Man Booker prize three times. I enjoyed this one overall! I loved the intrigue, the twists (particularly the first BIG twist), and the organic integration of more authentically representative experiences for queer folk in historical settings. I will say that the book’s structure leads to some parts feeling repetitive and slow, and I think it could have been significantly shorter overall. But I look forward to reading more from Waters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder