Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

136 reviews

mary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.75

It made me cry in public. Multiple times. Be aware. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, War, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, and Confinement

thetearex's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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 shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Gore, Islamophobia, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual content

lalu's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This one was intense!

I went in knowing barely anything about the situation and recent history of Afghanistan, apart from there's war and a lot of people but especially women are suffering. I also didn't remember the blurb... And I was absolutely blown away by the story, the characters, the tragedy, the immeasurable suffering, the strength. 

It took me a while to get used to Hosseini's style, but I really admire it now and I'm glad that I decided to buy Kite Runner when I came across it in a second hand book shop just after I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Blood, Confinement, Death, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy, Vomit, Grief, Infertility, and Miscarriage

aalayah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Violence, Gun violence, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Sexual violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and War

imaginefishes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just like The Kite Runner, this book hit me right where it hurts. Hosseini’s writing style was a welcome sight, and I deeply enjoyed reading about another facet of Afghan living and history in this book. While the gut-wrenching moments here were perhaps not as severe as in The Kite Runner (after all, that sort of betrayal is hard to beat), the domestic abuse and oppression of women delineated in its pages left me breathless and at times, fearful with anxiety. We follow the story of Mariam at the start, and I was confused initially as to why the perspective began to change from chapter to chapter (between Mariam and Laila), until the moment it clicked into place. This story is heartbreaking, once again touching on the idea of parental love (or rather, its lack thereof) but from a female lens instead, where powers continuously attempt to strip them of their agency and how these women act in different ways to manage it, one in subservient acceptance and one in defiant resistance. I was drawn in from the beginning, and my attention would drift to the book and its characters up to the moment I finished its story. Another brilliant, masterfully woven story by Hosseini about the tribulations of Afghanistan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexism, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, War, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Murder, Ableism, Classism, and Confinement

I was hoping that they would both be able to get the happy ending they deserved, but alas, in life, you don’t always get what you wish for. It is tragic, and yet, there is a poetic beauty to it.

robyn1998's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was sitting on my bookshelf for ages. I saw it in one of my patient's houses and asked him if he liked it and he screwed his face up and said "it's very gay". So I went into it a bit misinformed. But I was hooked once I got into it. It was so so so sad but very informative. It breaks my brain to think about all the people who've suffered this way and makes me grateful for the life and privileges I've had. I want to read the Kite Runner again cos I've completely forgotten it. My only criticism was that the characters are a bit two dimensional, mostly either completely good or completely bad 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

thahini's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and War

sadiaa's review against another edition

5.0

I read this book when I was a teenager so this is a reread, but it will always be 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, War, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Infertility, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

shashi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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? No

3.75

A volte troppo descrittivo. Poco “show, don’t tell”, cosa che invece avrei preferito. 
In ogni caso, questo libro mi ha fatto provare tante emozioni (rabbia soprattutto, ma anche speranza e gratitudine), quindi è riuscito nel suo intento.

Attraverso Mariam e Laila si ripercorrono la storia dell’Afghanistan negli ultimi 50 anni e i soprusi che le donne hanno dovuto sopportare. 
Anche se il romanzo si chiude con una nota abbastanza positiva (dopo la scacciata dei talebani all’inizio degli anni 2000) è tanto significativo quanto triste che una delle ultime frasi sia “il mondo si dimenticherà ancora una volta dell’Afghanistan”, perché è proprio quello che è successo. 
Lettura consigliata

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Sexism

happinessie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War