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delidousias's review against another edition
4.25
ohhhhh my God. this is a book that I do not think I will be able to recommend to anyone in my life, but it cut me right in my bones. The protagonist and I are very different people, but sometimes I would hear her describe an emotion exactly as I’ve felt it without having had the words for it. and she does it 100 years before me! I guess I never really believed that there were like. lesbians before the 70s. there’s an indigo girls song about connections through time when you’re reading and i was feeling this forreal. as a disclaimer: this book is flawed! i think the author was conservative and there are undercurrents of that in this book. despite how beautiful some of the passages in this book are, it was disappointing when some of those prejudices would come out and it would take me out of it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism and Racism
sofipitch's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Difficult to sum up in a short or coherent summary. The way this is written is more reminiscent of a 19th century romantic novel, which I really enjoyed but that might be off-putting to some. At the same time it feels old it still captures the same feelings many queer ppl have today. Stephen is an incredibly compelling character, justing following her makes for a good story. Stephen often feels at the mercy of who she is surrounded, incredibly loved by some, but when she loses them she becomes worse than alone. The biggest disappointment in this novel is the prejudices the author did bake in, racism, classism, antisemitism. For a book that the big blinking neon theme is equality and tolerance, it's more casual cruelties feel starker.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse
laurenw's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Addiction, War, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Outing, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Animal death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia and Antisemitism
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