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megsspookysanctuary's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Alcohol
gillianhunt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, and Murder
dorrie98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Some of the things that happen in The Gallows Pole are extremely nasty (seriously, check out the content warnings before you read if you are at all squeamish!), but Benjamin Myers’ prose is always rhythmic and enthralling. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what kept drawing me in, but The Gallows Pole was written not quite like anything else I’ve read before. Deighton’s final scene is the perfect example of the juxtaposition of beautiful and horrible. Granted, it might be more difficult for readers with vivid visual imaginations or who feel the pain a character feels to get lost in the play of words next to each other, but for those of us who don’t, it really works.
Benjamin Myers makes unsympathetic characters sympathetic. Despite David Hartley’s violence, arrogance, homophobia, the reader wants to spend more time with him. Whether its the sections told from his perspective or the third-person narrative, he maintains and rewards that interest. Even lesser characters with serious flaws are still given their fair share of story. Actuallysympathetic characters (like Grace) are rarely in the foreground, but Benjamin Myers uses them to good effect to keep The Gallows Pole from becoming an entirely bleak narrative.
It’s not surprising that The Gallows Pole won a literary award. This is a book with definite themes, of class struggle, social mobility, history. If I were going to write an essay, I’d probably begin with something about inevitability and the enduring of myth. I also appreciated the structure, how the end mirrored the beginning.
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity, Excrement, and Death of parent
kalagallop's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
_haggis_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement and Murder
It is gritty and doesn't gloss over tte violent, sexual, savageness of moor life in the 18th century. But it is never glorified or romanticisedcosyskog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I found the introduction to the characters slow going but necessary, and once I was hooked I couldn't put it down. I found the passages written by King David Hartley add to the feel of the book and are most easily read if you're already familiar with the Yorkshire accent and dialect. I felt Myers' prose in the book was beautiful throughout, including the occasional graphic detail of their crimes.
My only wish is that we learned about more of the women, and had more than just one notable female character.
Graphic: Death, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol
abimartin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence