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kaanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, and Abandonment
aidamaria_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Maggie O’Farrell knows her grief and how to spin it into print. The descriptions of pain and agony are almost poetic and yet so clear, so moving, that you have no trouble imagining just how the characters feel. I almost cried at times, wanted to slap certain characters straight into tomorrow had they not all been dead yet, and enjoyed the beauty of this work of historical fiction tremendously.
I can’t put my finger on why it’s not entirely a five-star read for me, but I see how the author received the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020 for this book.
Moderate: Child death and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
georginathelibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
To hear her talk about a child that I hadn’t even known existed, despite studying Agnes’s husband at university, a child who may have died of a deadly epidemic, during that time of my own life secluded from our own deadly sickness captured my attention.
I immediately ordered a signed copy, and then it sat on the shelf as they often do, biding their time until the moment is right.
Finally the time had come to read it, prompted by my book club, and I am so glad I have. It was chosen for April as that is the month of Agnes’ husband’s birth and death, but the story is not just about that famous playwright, it is more about his family, and their grief at the loss of one of their own.
This story captured my attention anew, transporting me to Elizabethan Stratford, and had me riveted from start to finish, a feat that many books have failed to deliver of late.
I warn you, you will need tissues, this is not a happy story, but it is one that leaves a feeling of wholeness at the end, that all is as it should be.
In the words of Agnes’s husband “give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o’er wrought heart and bids it break”.
Graphic: Grief and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kittyopal's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity and Miscarriage
zoegupta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
rosenau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
nikmalikov's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alltyedup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Pregnancy
seanml's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Chronic illness and Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage and Alcohol
anastasiamakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child abuse and Pregnancy
Minor: Death and Miscarriage