Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Women by Kristin Hannah

52 reviews

emilymarleymorris's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and War

haley49's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.75

I want to start by saying this was a story that needed to be told. There is not enough literature on Vietnam and this book really explores the erasure of female vets, the treatment of vets, ptsd, addiction and the futility of the war. I appreciated it all. 

However, for some reason I went into the book expecting multiple povs and instead got one, very limited pov. I would’ve wished we could’ve had the perspective of a Vietnamese woman and/or a black woman nurse. We see some of this through Frankie’s friend Barb but we are always told not shown things and it made any commentary about racism or classism feel shoehorned in. Plus, the fact that there were no named asian characters is a miss in my opinion. The only perspective about the war is shaped by people tired of the deaths of American soldiers with civilian casualties largely ignored. The author tried but it was a matter of needing more perspectives. 

Connected to the problem of needing more perspectives is the fact that Frankie always has a love interest. It was like whack a mole. For a book called the women and only telling one’s story she spent a lot of time centering her story on men. It was not super interesting or new and took valuable page time away from women and the war-related themes. There are multiple points where romantic love is used as a fix-all for main character’s problems. It became melodramatic for a book that is not a drama or a romance. 

All of the above issues didn’t make me hate the book but I would have made some changes. Again I did appreciate the themes, mention of historical movements, Barb’s character, the main friend group, and how much Frankie earned her future happiness. The author made her regress before her progress and I appreciate that in a character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Ableism, Vomit, and Colonisation

wormgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

samanthaxjean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

shibaunited's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Classism

knkoch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

This is an impressively researched and thorough historical novel that gives attention to a neglected contingent of the Vietnam War: the women and men who served as combat nurses and surgeons. The detail in the medical, shelling, and in-country scenes was gripping. I do appreciate that the entirety of Frankie's two tours only covers the first half of the book, as understandbly Frankie's main battle after surviving Vietnam is surviving and eventually healing from the PTSD she acquires. I don't doubt the raw depictions of drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and suicidality she experiences were informed by Kristin Hannah's research into the accounts of real women who served as combat nurses. It does feel a little as though MC Frankie is present for and experiences a bit too much plot, which turns this from a realistic historical novel (character-wise) into a more educational amalgam of many experiences embodied by virtually a single character. That's not the worst thing, but it does change subtly what this is. I was reminded of Brotherless Night and how V.V. Ganeshananthan expertly established an entire community of Tamil Sri Lankans to spread out the impact of the events and impacts of civil war. In that book, the characters shown through a bit more because no one or two character withstood every personal challenge. So, while The Women felt detailed and real, I don't know that I quite believed Frankie was a real person, as much as she felt like a vessel.  

I think Hannah did well at balancing respect for the horrors of war that service members of all divisions experience without engaging in uncritical patriotism. Frankie and her fellow nurses were among many vets who ended up protesting U.S. wartime policy decisions, as well as their treatment by institutions like the VA and the invalidating dismissal of their roles they received once home. Self advocacy is a huge component of this story. Ultimately, there are so many people who got swept up and away by the larger political forces at work that initiated and sustained U.S. military operations in Vietnam. It's a complicated thing to both care for and support healing for veterans without condoning the governmental decisions that made them into veterans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Minor: Torture

Not trying to utilize every possible TW, but it's a pretty raw look at PTSD resulting from war. The medical gore is about as explicit as can be.

kathrynshields's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? No

4.5

The Women is a beautifully written blend of storytelling and history exploring the bravery and heroism of the forgotten women who served in the Vietnam War. It was more episodic than expected but I really grew to love the characters. 

How do all these men keep rising from the dead?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, Car accident, and Alcohol

Largely takes place in hospitals place during the Vietnam War and covers the years following the end of the war

immovabletype's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Infertility, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, and Abortion

sydwishnow's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Tough book and long, but a very informative and thought provoking story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Police brutality

ivi_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed the insights into life in the US in the 60s and 70s around the time of the Vietnam war. The authors shows the struggles women and specifically women soldiers went through and how they found support.
The book handles a lot of heavy themes in a quite graphic way, so check the trigger warnings if you don't want to read about certain subjects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Torture, and Sexual harassment