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thereadingcat15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Fatphobia
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I have to admit that the chapters set at Blackwater Park were a bit difficult to go through, given all the misery and abuse directed at the female characters, it made for a very bleak reading experience. However, the story was wrapped up neatly and in a satisfying way.
I wasn't expecting the vicious fatphobia that permeates the entire novel so I was quite taken aback and it really dampened my overall enjoyment.
Graphic: Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
nekoshka's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
exlibrissum's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Fatphobia, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
gladiolus17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
—
Dang, Marianne really said all fat people were evil.
But setting aside the fatphobia, Marianne really sold the book for me. Hartwright was such a Gary Stue. His POV chapters were such a snore fest. Character development? Personality? Nothing. He was just a cardboard cutout “man.” The other characters were so brimming with personality and quirks, and when Marianne had her chapters, she really took the mystery into her own hands and risked her life.
I was expecting a classic novel like this to be more quieter, but this book was full of twists, and sometimes action. If you don’t like classics, this may be the book to pick up.
If you want to read a spiritual successor from a modern author, I’d pick up Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. That novel draws much inspiration from this classic.
Moderate: Fatphobia
annaonthepage'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? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty and Death
mimi_jaja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved Mariane Halcombe and how Collins creates cinematic scenes, describing the fall of light and casting of shadows. He pays great attention to subtleties of character's expressions during dialogue. I was also surprised at times by the nuanced manner in which Collins depicted women's experiences, sisterhood, relationships and interactions with men that appeared in Mariane's passages. That said, Walter's place in the narrative as a white knight in shining armour spoilt the feminist potential of the story. The morality was also dubious. Also, I would say that the fatphobia throughout is pretty extreme. The representation of Italians was offensive but interesting as a snapshot of tolerant vs intolerant attitudes at the time.
I listened along to the audiobook as I read my paperback too which I can recommend. I was hooked! This was a pleasure to read and didn't feel at all like 600 pages.
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Xenophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
orndal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
These poor women really were in a hell of societal convention. Not allowed to do anything without a disinterested uncle's consent. Not allowed to talk to each other plainly. Forced to walk on eggshells and hypervigilant to even the merest shadow of an insult. If only they could call everyone's BS and just LEAVE.
Like, at first I thought Marian was being paranoid. But no, Count Fosco and his wife really were sneaky little snakes. (Tho, the stubborn disgust at Fosco's praise was odd to me. Like, kinda a black and white moral superiority complex thing. As if because Fosco did some sketchy stuff, his very gaze could poison her or something.) (Oh, also, Fosco's condemnation of English society and crime was kinda weird. Was the author speaking through him as a form of social critique, or was the author trying to frame that line of thinking as obviously wrong because a villain was voicing it?)
In other news, the mystery threaded throughout, Percival Glyde's big secret, was v interesting.
Funny to me that this novel came out right after A Tale of Two Cities and both of them contain "twin" characters.
Anyway, I liked it. Not a top favorite, but worth the read.
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism
ok7a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Abandonment