Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

5 reviews

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, War, and Classism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Forced institutionalization

katekatiekait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Sexism, and War

Minor: Abortion, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Medical content

mattiedancer's review against another edition

hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Writing: 5⭐️/5 

Genuinely some of the most beautiful writing I’ve read in a bit. Part of the reason the writing felt so gorgeous was definitely the focus on words and their definitions, and yet a lot of the writing was thoroughly developed in a way that did much to show without telling. While being slow-paced, I never felt bored or confused. 

Characters: 5⭐️/5

While I didn’t love every character, they all felt real. People who annoyed our MC, Esme, weren’t forced to annoy us in contrived ways. Instead, their characters grated against hers in a natural way. Characters who our MC loved were given consistent personalities and were thrown into situations in which they were required to react. 

Plot: 5⭐️/5 

It’s a simple story: a young girl grows up watching her father help build the dictionary and chooses that life for herself. And yet, the depth in which Williams is able to apply other themes and subplots into such a simple story is masterfully done. The inclusion of the rise of feminism, the faults of new movements, the coming-of-age aspects from a woman’s perspective, and the harsh realities of life and death were adeptly handled.  

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

Oh, how sad and wonderful. 

Who Should Read This? 

• Fans of historical fiction
• Word-lovers and feminists
• Those looking for a slow coming-of-age story that evolves into a story about life in general

CW: Pregnancy, adoption, death, war, violence, trauma, abuse, misogyny, classism 

Final Rating: 5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Child death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Blood, Misogyny, Classism, and Abortion

Moderate: Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm

innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I found this disappointingly slow going. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the book, it just didn’t grab me enough to get through it quickly. Esme is quite passive for a protagonist. Things happen around her and to her. It’s a bit depressing. 
The words are the real star of the story. I enjoyed the premise that there’s a gender bias in these original dictionaries and the process of collecting the women’s words and defining them was really interesting. The story could have benefited from more of that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, and Sexism

Minor: Misogyny and Infertility

aseel_reads's review against another edition

hopeful reflective 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

4.0

really enjoyed learning about how the Oxford English dictionary was created!! I liked how the book interwined with the British suffragette movement and world war one. I also liked the intersection of class and gender. I do wish there was more race and gender, besides the bit in the epilogue. I liked Esme, I thought she was a well established character and I liked her arc. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Abortion