Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

22 reviews

rhiannonxgrace's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad

5.0

What an incredible book. I really enjoy Rubenhold’s writing style and find her to be an easy read, which can’t be said about all historians! This was a rough read, and more than once I had to pause and step away for a little while simply due to the content. But I am so glad I read this. It’s so important to move the focus back on to the womens’ lives and show them as fully fledged people, something that is often discarded when it comes to the Whitechapel murders.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

rosalind's review

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Hardgoing in places and I can’t lie, I’m glad I’ve finished it at last. But I have to give it 4 stars rather than 3 on the strength of the conclusion alone. It feels like a really significant piece of work, a powerful exercise in empathy and, as Rubenhold puts it in the interview included at the back, ‘alchemy or reimagination.’ I hope the Five spirits feel honoured; God rest them, and God forgive us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Abandonment

Moderate: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment