Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

5 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

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

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book. Reviews were all over the place, and the negative ones were enough reasons that I almost walked away. Those were the same reasons I might’ve hated this book because I’ve hated other books for these reasons (weak-willed women, lack of action or plot). But I considered the really strong reviews on the opposite end of the spectrum, and I’m glad I read it.

Lucy reminds me so much of my mom - self-effacing, resilient, steady, and insisting on being heard on her terms even in a world that does everything it can to minimize and infantilize women. I liked Lucy also because she continued forward despite her past, her husband’s monetary and family origins, her own dysfunctional family, and having to make it on her own within the walls of the patriarchy. She’s quietly persistent, open to the kindnesses of the world, and someone I might like to be friends with. I look forward to the second book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

bufalowevr's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content and Death of parent

shelfofunread's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and War

tanyafrey's review against another edition

reflective fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

rosalind's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

The whole experience of reading felt like sticking my fingers in someone else’s open wound; intimate, but not in a nice way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Medical content

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content and Classism