Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

9 reviews

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Gore, Islamophobia, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual content

keiwald's review against another edition

inspiring sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, War, Body shaming, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Infertility

Moderate: Abortion and Cursing

Very intense book about a lot of violence and war in Afghanistan. Can get detailed about

Spoiler

bombings, violence, and rape

bookishdaylight's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I was not prepared for the emotional turmoil this book had put me through. It was so beautifully written however it can be alarming at some points in which there were so many heavy topics and events that happened that when I think about it, it makes me tear up again.

It's about family, love, and loss and how the characters experienced one of the most traumatic things a child, a woman could ever go through. This was set in Afghanistan in where this was during a war that occurred in that country that changed the lives of so many people.

I couldn't imagine thinking about being a woman in that time and in that place going through so many hardships in life where they hardly even lived. They were disregarded and had to go abide by a lot of regulations and if those rules were broken, even if it was simply going outside then they would be punished, beaten, or terminated. So many cruelties that women had to suffer through at the hand of men.

The most inspiring thing that happened was how resilient Mariam and Laila were despite all the things that they had to went through. They had each other when no one could even save them where It was such comfort how they found solace in one another.

This was truly an amazing read and it has touched my heart and will forever be remembered. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, War, and Slavery

mxkenzie_11's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Grief

angelikatha's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I had to put down the book several times to stare in space with my mind adrift, waiting for my tears to dry, because my heart can only take so much in a moment.

Khaled has this detached but magnetic way of storytelling as if he's just passing on some news he overheard from the streets, as if these are all so common and prevalent that there's no other way to convey them than in a matter-of-fact manner. He surely knows how to make it sting even more. Truth be told, once and for all. Hurts hurled. No one spared. And it's horrible, horrible to think this is the truth in this fiction, that these are happening in Afghanistan, and probably in still some other parts of the world, probably somewhere nearer, somewhere just outside of here.

There is a main theme about life, particularly a woman's life, being an ode to quiet endurance. That what is visible in a woman's facade is only just a "slight tremor" of what is at the highest magnitude of suffering in the core. That most times women are indeed helplessly left with no other choice but to endure--and so silently for so long-- the unjust, unspeakable, undeserved violence and deprivation, because what else is there but an even more terrible oppression as a consequence of fighting for our rights?

Mariam had been bruised and battered for so long for no other reason than being a woman, taught by the world at such a young age, in the cruelest way, that she is no match for a man-- as if she had to match them to begin with. But for love, for her children, she fought back once and for all, and with all her might. 

Afghanistan is a woman. And so are all countries where war is waged, where misogynists rule, where corruption takes over compassion in the hearts of supposedly capable people more than anything else.

This is a reminder of what we have been fighting for alongside other things And this is my hope for women that we all may find courage in the face of oppression. That so should we, amid faltering knees and a quivering heart. So should we fight. That we fight nonetheless.

PS: Although Khalil dedicates this book to the women of Afghanistan, I think he also wants to remind us that some men are just victims too, because the real victims here are children in general, and the real opponent is a larger misguided system that teaches boys and girls these false, unethical, self-serving beliefs.

PPS: Not saying that what Mariam resulted in doing in the end was the rightest thing to do. But see the tragedy, where the "no other way" leads to in the face of injustice, how she was just acting in self-defense and for someone else's salvation, and still she paid for it with her life, as if she did it only out of self-indulgence the way Rasheed did so all those years of abuse, and despite her life being an atonement already just for the "sin" of being born, and being born a woman.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: War

Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Death of parent, Murder, and Suicide

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, War, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Infertility, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage and Rape

Minor: Vomit

whitebabysbreath's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War

mslessthan3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Torture

hammy_down's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

4.0

This book is a solid four. I do recommend it, but it isn’t one of my favorites. The book focuses on women written by a man. It is a little hard to connect to that. 
It is definitely heartbreaking and touching. You can feel it all. Great book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Police brutality