Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

5 reviews

tree_branch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, War, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Suicide attempt

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

 The Golden Notebook is a 1962 novel by Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing. It has a unique, slightly convoluted structure. At it’s heart is a novel title Free Women about Anna Wulf, her friend Molly, their children and the various men in their lives. Interspersed with this are excerpts from four (differently coloured) notebooks that Anna has kept, detailing different aspects of her life, and the fifth, the titular golden notebook, where Anna finally tries to draw all the disparate threads together. We see colonialsim play out via Anna’s time in Rhodesia. We learn plenty about the machinations of the British Communist Party are a privy to Anna’s lengthy soul searching about whether or not to continue her membership. I will say I found this thread tiresome and far too lengthy to hold my interest. Through Anna’s personal life and her often fraught relationships with different men we can see the gains wrought by women’s liberation - and also it’s limitations and contradictions. We’re privy to all sorts of mundane daily details - what she is cooking her daughter for dinner, details of her period and how it impacts her day - as well as plenty of intellectual and philosophical thoughts and discussions. Anna’s struggle as an author and her eventual ability to write again is another interesting strand, with much to mull over about the line between fact and fiction. The chaos of a mental breakdown was well-depicted, albeit difficult to read about.

I read this book quite some time ago but left it to sit for a while before attempting to put my thoughts into words. While I can appreciate it at an intellectual level and admire what Lessing achieved, I struggled to connect with this book emotionally. It felt dated and very much a product of its time and the background it it’s author, which made aspects of it jarring today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

waybeyondblue's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, and Racism

Moderate: War, Incest, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

oksi's review

challenging informative reflective sad slow-paced

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia and Incest

oksi's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, and Incest