Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

74 reviews

livcashmere's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed reading this but I think it’s my least favourite in the ‘mythology from a female perspective’ genre. It started off really slow, but began to pick up its pacing about a third of the way in. I loved the way Clytemnstra and Helen’s relationship was depicted. I think the relationships between the female characters throughout this novel is it’s most redeeming quality. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Murder, and War

inkdrinker6259's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

lizzy_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Amazing story telling. This book felt similar to the way Madeleine Miller’s Circe story was told and I loved it. The story of Clytemnestra is devastating and full of violence and heartbreak but through all that she endures, she never breaks. I loved the relationship she shares with her siblings and even her children. She is a queen to be reckoned with and one that demands respect. Very refreshing and easy to follow. Great book overall. Trigger warning that there are themes of violence, sexual assault and abuse. Please take care reading.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and War

tenderdispatches's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

audreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

All my homies hate Agamemnon!

Book is beautifully written. It’s a challenge to write this time period in a way that’s still easy to consume but this book definitely accomplishes that. It’s also super difficult for me to keep up with a lot of characters, but the descriptions and callbacks were so good that I rarely had to look back at the character list (which is also helpful)! I do feel like some scenes and details could be cut. While the book wasn’t especially long, it took me longer to get through than I expected. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in Greek mythology and/or female rage, with the caveat that you should definitely read the content warnings first.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and War

Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

I listed a ton of content warnings, yes, but most of them overlap for the same scenes and passages. The book is pretty honest about the treatment of people in this time, particularly women, so there are a lot of traumatic topics. I struggled with the amount of SA occurrences, but not so much that the book wasn’t worth it. Much of the book is dark, but moves on quickly and the end leaves you with some spark of retribution.

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and War

chattingmyth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

marynograce827's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book had me captivated from the very start and if you enjoy greek mythology and greek mythology retellings you will absolutely love this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

elizcorgi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and War

emerentina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and War