Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

16 reviews

rionstorm's review

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

A really interesting (and bleak) exploration of how we make sense and meaning of ourselves and our role as a Person, and how much of that is situational. The narrator's musings on how time only has meaning and we only really exist when it's in relation to other people really struck a chord with me. 

If you are looking for fast paced or hopeful dystopian fiction you won't like this.

Ending spoilers

Spoiler

Have seen the story described as "a puzzle that refuses to be solved", and I feel that's accurate - but as frustrating as that is, I can respect the authors decision not to explain anything. It sort of places you alongside the narrator and gives you the option to either choose to continue going knowing that there probably won't be a resolution, or give up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Death, Terminal illness, Infertility, Kidnapping, Confinement, Abandonment, and Suicide

Moderate: Police brutality and Physical abuse

paulinelluise's review

challenging dark mysterious 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? No

4.75

Spoiler

I thought she would be able to tell us what was going on, I want to know :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Infertility, Blood, Violence, Kidnapping, Cancer, Death, Grief, and Alcohol

kimberleydawn's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Confinement

Minor: Grief, Suicide, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Dementia, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Cancer

madelinequinne's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I’m not usually a fan of dystopian or sci fi books so this was a bit out of my comfort zone, but i thought the concept was really interesting! 

when i picked this up i was more expecting it to be about a small group of women being held against their will by men for nefarious reasons, rather than it being a dystopia where so many people were in these bunkers for a reason nobody knew, so it was a surprise when i got into it and realised it was that, and i can’t say i hugely enjoyed it just cuz this genre isn’t really my kind of thing, but i did find a lot of the points the main character made very reflective and interesting, and found myself relating to her in some ways, despite her situation being so far from anyone on earth’s. 

it was cool to challenge myself to explore a genre i’m not usually into, but i don’t know if i’d do it again 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Suicide, Infertility, Dementia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Terminal illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, and Abandonment

_dani's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Death

karmapen's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, and Kidnapping

risemini's review

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Torture, Blood, Cancer, Death, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Terminal illness

mal_eficent's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This is beautiful, and haunting, and fixes every issue I've ever had with end of the world dystopian narratives. There's no satisfying end, none of the questions are answered, and there's no bright moment of hope that fixes everything or offers anyone–characters or readers– a conclusion. It just ends as quietly as it begins.

If you want a dystopian story that's beautifully written without being pretentious, and isn't full of overt violence, then you have to pick this up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Abandonment, Suicide, Trafficking, Dementia, Grief, Terminal illness, Cancer, Confinement, and Infertility

Minor: Kidnapping

bailey_the_bookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Can I give a book more than five stars?

Have you ever been punched in the face by a book, but in, like, a good way? Yeah, that. 

You know those books that you finish and are like “I’m going to be thinking about this book for the rest of the week/my life”? This is one of those. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Confinement, and Kidnapping

jaiari12's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping