Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue

19 reviews

jasmineehare's review

emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book; I knew very little about Anne Lister beyond her being queer, and I couldn’t wait to get to the author’s note at the end to find out more about the history of these characters (people!). This reminded me of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray but without the magic and much more explicit. I liked that the writing didn’t feel modern; I felt that I was thinking of things in the way that a girl in 1805 would, as much as possible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, War, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, and Sexual assault

kers_tin's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was so good! Historical fiction my beloved. Eliza deserved so much better 💔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Infidelity, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Racism, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

arayo's review

funny 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Classism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

ajay913's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Homophobia

hmatt's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

3.5

I'm not generally one for slow, introspective fiction, but Donoghue does it well and I was intrigued by the premise of this one. I feel as though the story lulls midway through, though, and I didn't get much from it after that... I'm also not sure that I like the framing of the letters from the future. That didn't work for me, although I suppose I see why the author wrote it that way.

I think I would have preferred a bit of a mystery fade-to-black situation after Lister leaves with her broken leg. The end as it is felt a bit tacked-on and really jolted me as a reader out of the atmosphere the rest of the novel created.

I do think others will enjoy this more deeply, it just wasn't the right pace and vibe for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Racism, Sexism, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, and Toxic friendship

james1star's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Slavery

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

challenging funny informative reflective sad slow-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

This wonderfully researched historical fiction based on a true story explores the budding relationship of two young girls at boarding school in 19th century England--Eliza Raine & Anne Lister. It's a beautiful & heart breaking love story but I do think it's quite a slow read. If you aren't interested in character studies, especially if they're delivered with historical minutiae & strict attention to detail, then this might not be the book for you. 

As someone who really enjoys reading about this time period and about historical queer people, I loved this book. It was carefully researched and I can tell that Donoghue took a lot of care in her characterization of both Lister & Raine. Be warned that this is not a story that ends happily so I don't recommend going into this if you're looking for a soft, happy romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Homophobia, Genocide, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Abandonment, and Racism

breanneporter's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I struggled through the first half, which I found very tedious and dull, but I’m really glad I persevered, as I really liked the second half. This is the fictionalized account of Eliza Raine and Anne Lister, who met and fell in love in English boarding school when they were only 14. It made me want to try to watch gentleman jack again (I watched one season but there was so much about her coal business and not enough lesbian fuckboy shenanigans, which is obvs why I was there). It’s tragic but beautiful, as are most tales of lesbian love before modern times, and If you can suffer through the tedium of the schoolgirls’ daily schedules and family lineages that make up the bulk of the first half, you’re in for a beautiful and emotional story of the intensity of first love. 

I’m still thinking about

how Raine didn’t want to think there were other sapphic couplings (like I thought she would have) and instead described their love as their own invention - I just love that positive reframing of the fact that lesbian love was so unseen and undiscussed (and criminalized), to believe they had discovered, for the first time maybe, something so beautiful and life altering.

I think I’ll be thinking of that, and Anne and Eliza in general, for a while longer. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Racism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Confinement

hanz's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Racism, Confinement, and Classism

breeoxd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Sapphic boarding school regency romance that sucked me in. Adored all of it until the very end, when I realized the secondary character, who was based on Anne Lister (the first modern lesbian) was much more sinister than I originally thought. The imagery of England conquering the Indian subcontinent mirrored Anne’s (perhaps unintentional) conquest of a girl at a significant disadvantage in the time period, and Anne’s lust for life in all its forms led to a casual disregard for others risk tolerance and vulnerabilities (as evidenced by the “dual demerit” system Raine spoke of). As hard it was for Anne she was a person of privilege in this relationship. The afterword is a must read but did nothing for my fondness for the real life Lister, particularly when she moved on to other lovers but was just fine trying to get dibs on Raines money. Lots of gaslighting at the end and I just feel tormented. Good book but I feel rather ill over it all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Racism