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hannicogood's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A convincing and harrowing account of a lonely, impoverished gentlewoman that couldn’t be set anywhere other than 1950s Belfast. My anxiety for Judith grew through the novel and will now sit in my stomach til I am able to drag my thoughts away. However, didn’t care for the use of sexual assault that didn’t add anything to the plot. It seems like it was included to underline how icky a certain character is, but the reader is already well aware by the time it happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
siria's review against another edition
dark
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The kind of quietly devastating book that you finish and then need to just sit and stare at a blank wall for a moment while saying "oof" softly to yourself. Brian Moore's portrait of the chronically lonely Judith Hearne, a 40-something spinster clinging desperately to her fading gentility in 1950s Belfast is a well-observed one: a bleak look at woman imprisoning herself in a grisaille world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Rape
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