thealienamongus's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Medical content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Terminal illness, Homophobia, Child death, and Colonisation
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
p_ttyb_tch's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Not worth the time. 1) The half-baked "romance" between Julietta and Jane (arguably the crux of the story) is dubious at best. At worst? Downright predatory and exploitative. Julietta's experience, weighed against Jane's apparent innocence in regards to sexuality and sexual expression, creates an unbalanced dynamic that often becomes uncomfortable.
2) Valentine Ross' inexplicable derailment into a violent misogynist comes out of nowhere. One (!!!) refusal of marriage is enough to make the once mild-mannered doctor frequently fantasise about strangling, subjugating and otherwise harming Jane, It's disgusting.
3) The framing of Ralph Savage's relationship with his servant is also not good. There seems to be an implication that, because Leon holds some weird sexual power over Ralph, they are somehow equal under circumstances where that is just... not possible. Ick.
2) Valentine Ross' inexplicable derailment into a violent misogynist comes out of nowhere. One (!!!) refusal of marriage is enough to make the once mild-mannered doctor frequently fantasise about strangling, subjugating and otherwise harming Jane,
Spoiler
which culminates in an outburst that leaves her bed-ridden after a miscarriage leads to life-threatening hemorrhaging.3) The framing of Ralph Savage's relationship with his servant is also not good. There seems to be an implication that, because Leon holds some weird sexual power over Ralph, they are somehow equal under circumstances where that is just... not possible. Ick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child death, Racism, and Suicide
mrodrigues23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
- 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? Yes
4.75
Amazing book that includes a Sapphic relationship. The book also takes a glance into the perspective of the thoughts of an abuser and the rationalisation that occurred due to there being a patriarchal society that forces women to submit to men and a potential and very realist portrayal of what can happen when a man's ego and pride is wounded. I would also like to point out that due to the patriarchal society one of the females in the gay relationship appeared to have a warped view of what a woman loving woman relationship consisted of. I believe it was her way of at some points rationalising this and being able to be her bisexual self without endangering her beliefs. The societal expectation are also what drove the MC into the abusive 'relationship'.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Colonisation
Minor: Abortion and Death
fugitive_words's review against another edition
3.5
Islands of Mercy is a story of vibrant locations and colourful characters. Set in 1860s Bath and Borneo, with some snippets of London, Paris, and Dublin, Rose Tremain captures the spirit of the times with ease. I enjoyed the character development of Jane and the heartfelt sections about motherhood, art, and love. The other plot, though, in Borneo, despite its interesting look into colonial and naturalists’ endeavours, was a little less exciting to me. Perhaps this would have worked better as more of a subplot, or in a tv-series, as it often felt like a distraction from the main plot, left behind on an unnecessary cliffhanger. The end of the novel is wonderfully hopeful and comforting, though it only comes after a rather late climax (which makes the middle of the novel a little stagnant). All in all, however, a pleasant summer read with an engaging story neatly tied up in the end.
Also will say that Tremain manages to keep the representation of men quite balanced, despite the heavy dose of Dr Valentine Ross, who is selfish and mean.
Also will say that Tremain manages to keep the representation of men quite balanced, despite the heavy dose of Dr Valentine Ross, who is selfish and mean.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness, Colonisation, and Racism
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