Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

10 reviews

bethanwx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The first half of this book is worthy of 5 stars. Stephen's relationships with Philip and Puddle are so beautifully written, and Hall really makes you root for Stephen. However, the book later conveys a white supremacist outlook held by Hall. For a book which advocates for the acceptance of queer people, the inhumane description of black characters is not only disgusting but is itself antithetical to the novel's advocation. The novel's depiction of Mary also feels incomplete. She is used as a porn by everyone, including Stephen, who is attracted to her young and naivite, even noticing that she looks younger than her age in a troubling age difference trope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Pedophilia

coatpocketcreature's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Grief, Self harm, Racism, Homophobia, and Suicide

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, and Suicide

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Outing, War, Mental illness, Medical content, Death, Suicide, and Animal death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Classism, Racism, and Toxic relationship

audreymetcalf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Grief

berodatheelf's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, and Lesbophobia

tired_ghost's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Such a hearbreaking book, Stephen's — the main character's — struggles with her gender expression and sexuality felt very close to me, being a non-feminine lesbian myself, it was such an intimate experience to read my own thoughts on the pages of the book. Won't go into spoilers, but I really loved sweet and tender moments between Stephen and her loved one, some scenes made my heart melt and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling. I loved the way love was portrayed as something gentle, tender and cozy, it felt very authentic and matched my own experiences with love. I didn't give the book 5 stars, because I didn't like the treatment of the characters of colour in one chapter, it just felt racist to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Suicide, Chronic illness, and War

Minor: Outing, War, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

irisirae's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

"Some day I shall climb to the top and that will compel the world to accept me for what I am."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Lesbophobia

Moderate: War, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

neptunereign's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Suicide, and War

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Racism

Minor: Animal death

snoutsiru's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.0

I’m not one to read classics, but this one is actually really good. It’s heartbreaking and honestly a good description of the white queer experience. However, the racism in this book was just so unnecessary. I know it was a different time back then but it was still unnecessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Suicide, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Fatphobia