Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Der größte Spaß, den wir je hatten

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Der größte Spaß, den wir je hatten by Claire Lombardo

19 reviews

mindsplinters's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

I hesitate to ever give less than 2 stars on a book and especially when I think it is a case of "not a bad book but a bad book FOR ME." Then again, I'm not entirely sure I know anyone personally who would love this one. For one thing, it is a massive book at over 500 pages with a big cast (the main family alone is 6 people) and multiple POVs and hitting a lot of topics that would be triggers for people (death, eating disorders, depression, miscarriage, drug use, alcohol, cheating). It is not a badly written book and Lombardo clearly put effort and thought into her characters. She knows them, knows their motivations, their thoughts, their desires. The good, the bad, and the ugly. She weaves together all of the storylines until you get as tidy a bow at the end as a family drama ever gets. This is good and takes skill.

Unfortunately, in giving these characters such clear life, Lombardo also made the book unpalatable to me. Hardly anyone in this book was likeable. Even the ones you could feel sympathy for were still headaches. The drama was shared around widely like some bizarre merry-go-round where I went into each chapter wondering which character I would loathe the most in that round. Jonah, the poor kid, usually stayed under my umbrella of protection because he honestly had a rough foundation from the get-go (but I totally guessed who his dad was and was relieved that it wasn't the Most Drama Causing One - only the second most). Also Violet's poor kids - she's 100% giving Wyatt every chance at a really lovely anxiety disorder. But the others? It was like watching multiple train wrecks at once. Some were not avoidable. Some definitely were.

Maybe it's me, maybe it's the time (you know, this oligarchy-favoring hellscape), but it was certainly not the most fun I ever had reading about a cis white upper-middle-class family with loving (yes, we get it, you'd save at least 100 pages if you stopped writing it) parents who all managed to screw themselves and people around them spectacularly.

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lindsayvale's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

3.25

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itshelts's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Very enjoyable the way the story jumps through time for all of its characters, so your constantly unfolding bits of the past that help you capture the details of their relationships. Constant discovery in that way. I found Wendy and Jonah to be a few of my favorite voices. Love this book.

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rly's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

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carlycompton22's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

Wonderful generational novel about what it takes to make and keep a family with plenty of secrets, drama, and emotional baggage. The characters are beautifully complex and flawed. Marilyn and David's story which is woven throughout the present day events, really struck home, demonstrating how much conscious effort and sacrifice goes into staying in love for a lifetime, a love that many would mistake as easy and natural.

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melissafrench's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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? Yes

5.0

I don’t think I have ever been as deeply emotionally moved by any other book as I was by this one. I could not put it down even when it had me crying so hard I couldn’t see straight. The shifting POV was sometimes momentarily confusing, but as you get deeper in the book and start to know the characters in all their complexity, it gets easier to follow. And the emotional impact of seeing these life events and relationships through the eyes of each of the people involved in turn was just spectacular.

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