| But, although it's undeniably visceral, in the end it's a sharp-witted study of sentimentalised violence and the use of language as a form of moral camouflage. |
| Historical fiction runs the risk of degenerating into joining the dots of known facts with overdrawn, sentimentalised characters. |
| Reading his book over a century later, in an age that has sentimentalised illness and therapy, his remarks sound disconcertingly moderate. |
