Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Das Labyrinth des Fauns by Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke

16 reviews

lillyskyemily's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Way more gruesome and tragic than I expected it to be. Very heavy topics, maybe not the ideal bedtime read. Still a beautifully written story with interesting themes explored in front of a sobering historical context.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

tealattes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

I haven’t watched the movie so I cannot compare it to del Toro’s original work. Assuming not much was changed in the written version, I think del Toro’s story of Pan’s Labyrinth is uniquely dark and captivating, balancing fairytale elements while studying the many facets of human nature (hope, motivation, cruelty, desperation, will, how one is shaped by their upbringing, etc). Cornelia Funke was successful in relaying this story, especially in capturing the mindsets of the three main characters Ofelia, Vidal and Mercedes, a dark mood, and both realistically vivid and fantastical imagery. However I didn’t enjoy her writing style and it felt awkward; only until I was well into it was I able to ignore it.

The story is about a girl named Ofelia who moves to a mill with her widowed but newly married mother. Ofelia is still grieving over the loss of her father. All her life she has found solace in fairytales, so she is not surprised when she finds her own. A fairy  leads her to a labyrinth where a Faun tells her she is a lost princess, and gives her three tasks which must be completed if she is to return to the underground kingdom. While Ofelia is completing these tasks, her stepfather Vidal is running a terrorizing operation in the forest. Ofelia’s stepfather is Ernesto Vidal, the capitán of a military group sent to the forest to weed out and kill resistance members to Franco’s fascist government regime. This historical element runs in the background and is not a central focus but provides an interesting setting for Ofelia’s fairytale and the birthplace for people like Vidal, whose actions supply most of the dark content of this novel as he is nothing shy of a sadistic villain. 

What I enjoyed most were the woven in tales that provided lore to the world and linked all the magical elements that Ofelia was encountering. It was definitely easy to read despite the dark themes, and it felt realistic despite the magic. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, and War

Minor: Cursing

thomastopo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and War

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of my favorite movies so I was excited to see it in book form. Love the cover! It's dark and beautiful just like the film. This is a great companion novel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Abortion

bibliophilecats's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Unnecessarily gruesome. Not YA.
Only good thing is the ending of Ofelia's story.
The mix of child's sort of innocent viewpoint with horror and gore did not work for me at all. No idea what the target audience/age demographic is supposed to be.
Cannot recommen.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment

elysian's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Gosh this was a good book and it got me back into reading. It had very strong themes and ideas which I loved and adored.

It was very slow to read at times. And some chapters where a pain to get through, as they were written from Vidals perspective (most despicable character ever written)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Murder, and War

luumii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, and Blood

spacepandita2022's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

aquamarinecadet's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

A terrifically gruesome children's book. I would not recommend gifting this book to children who still believe in Santa, fairies or the sort, it would quite literally break their dreams into brittle little pieces and pound them into bloody ashes :) 
Which makes this book a great read for 10+ year olds who know a bit about WWII, and who used to like fairytales (or maybe still do)
I for one, liked this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, and War