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schmauli's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
franzi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Confinement, Gore, and Death of parent
ozmarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ronjaorsomething's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Miscarriage, and Violence
nila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death and Murder
meg_elyse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
bookstorian's review against another edition
4.5
Told from the perspective of Jocasta and her daughter Ismene this work weaves together the well known story of Oedipus and the tragedy that befalls their family - death, death and more death.
Plot: What I loved most about this story was how it shifted my understanding of the myth and what happened - it gave it colour and texture. It wasn't the predictable story that I expected and instead was told from the women who are the most silenced within the myth and invited me to consider other possibilities to the tragic events- ones that weren't reliant on the Chinese Whispers of an oracle. Even though the book was published in 2018, there were strong pandemic vibes - I love how works such as this remind us that plague and disease on a massive scale is not a new experience of humanity.
Characters: Obviously I'm here for not one but TWO female protagonists. I think the real tragic hero for me wasn't Oedipus, it was actually Creon, usually painted as the villain, he was so different between the narration of Jocasta and Ismene given that he was ravaged by greed and grief later in life, poor fella. The gender bending of Teiresias as a female house keeper and the inclusion of Sophon (a tribute to Sophocles) was also a delight!
Writing style: I furiously underlined many quotes throughout - I adore Haynes' writing. So much so I was even captivated by the author's notes at the end to the very last word (something I usually skim over).
The ending: Different than I expected, I did question moments of it and I'm actually not sure what happened to Haemon.. I know what was meant to happen to him but not sure what became of him in this version of events...
Needless to say I am SO EXCITED for the release of 'Stone Blind' and am eagerly awaiting to see what Haynes does with the myth of Medusa!
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
introverted_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
akswhy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
toriliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault and Vomit