Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

12 reviews

allyem_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

7.43 CAWPILE score 

I thought this was an excellent retelling of Clytemnestra’s story. I’m well versed in her myth—Aeschylus’s Oresteia was a particular focus of mine in school—so nothing in this book was technically new information to me, but I enjoyed how the author told it. The voice was very clear, vengeful and strong. Very “good for her” vibes. I mean, Clytemnestra is the original “good for her” character, really. Her motivations always made sense and she remained level-headed throughout the entire novel, which isn’t always the case in newer retellings. I’m surprised at the ending, though: it felt rather hopeful, which of course doesn’t really match the source material, but I’m not mad about it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Sexual violence, Child death, Gore, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: War, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Incest, and Alcoholism

missgarceau'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Classism, Sexism, War, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, Mental illness, Torture, and Trafficking

professoremdash's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

A beautiful retelling of the story of Clytemnestra, Greek queen and sister of Helen. There are varying accounts of Clytemnestra’s story and this novel combines a number of them in interesting ways. It’s beautifully written and engaging, spanning nearly the entirety of her life. My only qualm is the ending and the fact that it doesn’t exactly cover all of what happened after the Trojan war, but the author justifies their choice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: War, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

rustmaiden's review against another edition

dark informative reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Child death, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, War, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Torture, and War

amanda_marie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love a complicated female lead, who is imperfect in her strength. This book is one where you cannot root for anyone entirely, but find yourself doing so anyway, for as bad as some may be there are always those who are worse. It also made Greek mythology more accessible to someone who snoozed through the odyssey in high school. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, War, Sexism, Rape, Murder, Torture, and Death of parent

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, War, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Lesbophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

I selected this as one of my Book of the Month selections.
"Clytemnestra" follows Clytemnestra, arguably the most infamous villainess of the ancient world. She unknowingly marries a tyrant who commits multiple evil acts against her, the worst being murdering their child in an effort to appease the gods. When presented with the choice, Clytemnestra can decide to accept her fate, or exact revenge on all of those who have wronged her. In her own cunning way, she chooses to play the long game, and take the power she deserves.
Clytemnestra is definitely an evil character, but once you begin to read her story, you cannot but help to feel badly for her. Everyone treated her horribly, and seemingly every time she got a sliver of good in her life, it was tainted and taken away.
This story absolutely blew me away, especially because it is a debut. I am not a huge fan of Greek retellings, but this one I could not put down. Clytemnestra is such a complex and morally gray character, and I loved seeing her evolution. This villain origin story will make you empathize with her and be up in arms with her.
The writing was beautiful, but very approachable. The author wrote this in a way that even if you know nothing about Greek history, you can enjoy and follow this story easily.
I look forward to reading more from Costanza Casati in the future. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Child death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Gaslighting

madelinequinne's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book put me right back into my ancient greece obsession, and i’m very thankful for that, because it’s a truly intriguing subject. 

This story is incredible, filled with female rage and agony, told in such a beautiful way! I couldn’t stop reading, I just needed to not what happened next. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient greece and the queens of that time

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Child death, Cursing, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War

booksareoxygen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This retelling encapsulates the life of Clytemnestra, in all its tragedy and grief. I loved the rage and revenge that are softened by joy and liveliness, it felt like the story was well balanced on a knives edge. The author covers a lot of mythic ground well and quickly. If you’re interested in myth retellings and anyone interested in a complex story with strong female characters this is for you. 4.5/5 

Thank you Netgalley and Sourebook landmarks for sending the book for review consideration. All opinions are my own! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Pregnancy, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, War, Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Kidnapping, Rape, Infidelity, and Death

missindyrose's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, War, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Child death