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Reviews tagging 'Murder'
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
99 reviews
notlikethebeer's review
4.0
Reading The Five is really difficult. At each decision each woman makes, you want to cry out, to warn them off. As well, reading about the challenges they faced is incredibly hard when knowing where their stories will ultimately play out.
I do think I'm a bit conflicted about the way that the deaths themselves were approached. It was the underlying aim to provide agency and narrative, rather than focusing on their deaths, and so it's understandable that the actual deaths were somewhat glossed over. At the same time, those deaths are (tragically, horrifically, awfully) what made the women known to us today. More importantly, those deaths were part of their stories. I wonder whether removing the women from the narratives of their deaths is, in a way, another way of removing agency? I don't know.
I would also probably have appreciated a bit more reflexivity. There was some of this, but I think it could have been expanded upon further. It's not a coincidence or accident that the women continue to be known as sex workers: there is so much room for exploring the function of this. Similarly, so much of what was featured in this book was conjecture: "would" and "should" were used so much. It would have been useful I think to explore how many gaps there are, and what we can understand of this. And, whilst Jack the Ripper was intentionally not the focus of this book, I wonder what we can make of the assumption that there could only have been one killer, what that might mean. Then again: what is an important book if not one that provokes further questions?
Graphic: Sexual violence and Murder
richardw2024's review
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
will_cat_books's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
jessi_lou95's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
mahmabaer's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
jhbandcats's review against another edition
5.0
The author focuses on the women, only referring to Jack the Ripper as their murderer. She has done extensive research to find out who these women were and what their lives were like, such that they ended up dead in the gutter. All these women came from working class families but because they were born female, the deck was stacked against them. The smallest setback could literally ruin someone’s life.
By viewing these women with compassion instead of condemnation, we can see who they really were.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
jiao_li's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
taylasreading's review
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
tlholmes's review
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
desert_side_notched's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Classism