Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

28 reviews

mondovertigo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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fancyfroggie's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

2.0

so, i read this book for school. there are definitely some elements about it that haven't aged well. joan lindsay definitely had some internalised misogyny when writing this book. a large criticism of it is that i think mike and albert should have ended up together, they are clearly gay for each other. also i found the ending very underwhelming and i feel rather unsatisfied after finishing it
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brekker_by_brekker's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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tacochelle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • 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? Yes

4.0

3 girls and a teacher from an Australian private academy disappear after climbing up to the titular Hanging Rock during their school picnic.  No bodies are ever found, and the event haunts everyone remotely connected to it, some more tragically than others. There's a hint of something supernatural about the whole thing, but it's never confirmed. While the truth of the mystery was published decades later, I don't thinks it's needed. It'd less about the mystery and more about how their absence affects their world. A little slow, but really interesting, and weird enough to be right up my alley.
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picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

Beautifully written and atmospheric
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s_l's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

I liked it and it was pretty interesting, and emotionally it did have a clear ending
I don't think it was built correctly for the ending it had (which - yeah, there was another chapter that got cut, I guess the plan was a bit different), and it's more about the life of people around the disappearance rather than the actual mystery itself but it was still a nice read
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edamamebean's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I’ve been wanting to pick this up for at least three or four years. It was just as good, if not better, than I hoped it would be. Lovers of open-shut mysteries won’t like it very much, as it leaves you with more questions than answers, but those questions linger long after the last page. This one will definitely stick with me and I won’t be surprised if I end up reading it again someday. 
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erinbarton's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

2.5

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chiaralestino's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

I really enjoyed the flow of the story and the mystical energy surrounding the setting, which was really impactful as a result of effective imagery. A mix of intricate and vague details gave the book a somewhat fantastical backdrop despite being set in rural 1900s Australia. It was interesting to me how the events of the book really contrasted the vestal symbols of the young girls' white dresses, flowers and vanity. 
The book definitely had moments where it lost its magic for me, however the writing never felt boring. I still wish it was creepier throughout the whole text. Another reason why it isn't more than 5 stars is because it felt like it has very obvious flaws that are characteristic of white-Australian writing from the past. Despite this, I expected it to be worse so it's a nice surprise that I enjoyed it.
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nellcummins's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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