Reviews with content warning for Death - French Braid

Reviews tagging 'Death'

lauraportalupi's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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lgiery's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

Immersive. Visceral.

Spanning from 1959 to 2020, "French Braid" tells the story of a single family (over four generations), exploring its complexities. It's the first Anne Tyler book I've read. Now I plan to read them all.

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dr_aimz's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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ains_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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jadewindsor's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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peytonktracy's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This slice-of-life narrative of a family over four generations caught me so unexpectedly in the feels. There’s not a lot of ongoing plot throughout, which took a bit of acclimating (I kept waiting for a shoe to drop for the first half or so) but once I recognized it as glimpses, portraits, Mercy’s paintings of impressionistic blurs with one moment in pristine detail, it was almost painfully beautiful. I saw members of my family, my parents’ families, in the Garretts, how they interact and how they don’t, the flaws and strengths. And the final message of the book is so obvious, but so simple and elegant, I found myself a little teary. Absolutely worth a read for a reflective study of Family.

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becca_thegrimreader's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Anne Tyler tells the story of the Garrett family spanning from 1959 to present day. Spanning several decades generations of one family we get a glimpse into their life. We learn of their ambitions, dreams, and regrets as we travel through different points of view, some more interesting than others. My favourite chapter was probably Candle’s story. It was nice to read as she grew closer to her grandmother Mercy, explored her art and herself.

I think one of the main strengths of this book is how accurate the family dynamics are depicted. There is love, resentment, anger, jealousy, strain, and sadness. The interactions between them all is very true to life, from their phone calls to check what someone else knows, to planning what to bring to the family dinner. I think many will find some of this familiar, and it did make me smile.

I don’t think this book would be everyone’s cup of tea, there isn’t a lot of drama. I enjoyed how we visited different characters, but I was left wondering what happened to them once we left their point of view. I wanted to know what happened with the young couple at the beginning, did Candle pursue art, or why David didn’t stay in contact with his family? Yet, the glimpses of these characters throughout the book is familiar and is like getting to meet a friend again.

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