Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

470 reviews

vnfhcxksiw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Blood, Grief, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War

cestnicka's review

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

This was a great book! I thought it was well written and captivating and a great retelling of homers Iliad in a way that is accessible to all readers! This is a debut novel from Madeline miller and it was obvious she had a background in Greek mythology and had put a lot of work into this book. 

This is the retelling of the story of Achilles, a great Greek warrior who is in love with the exiled prince Patroclus. It follows their journey from childhood friends to adulthood and the song of Achilles is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak. 

I really enjoyed the focus on the two characters and appreciated that she didn't shy away from the homosexuality of Patroclus and Achilles. The characters were really well written and I felt so connected to them throughout the novel. 

I really enjoyed learning about Ancient Greece through this novel. It was very interesting to learn about some of the mythology. 

I did find at times with so many characters getting a bit lost, and that made the book feel a bit long and pulled me away from the story. Otherwise this was a great book and I enjoyed the read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War

Minor: Sexual violence

Lgbtqia

onmym_ark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and War

Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, and Homophobia

_cararichardson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful read. Surprisingly, I didn’t like it quite as much as Circe, but only marginally so. I found that the plot slowed down a little in the middle, during the beginning of the Trojan war. Naturally, the romance between Achilles and Patroclus is just perfect, beautiful and heart wrenching.

Spoiler

I thought that the choice to continue Patroclus’ narration even after he was killed was GENIUS and led to great moments and a great ending

I really enjoyed the plot, writing (obvi) and the characters. The ending did make me teary eyed and is definitely a top tier ending for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Sexual violence

angeldevoursliterature's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Medical content, Bullying, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Gore, War, Torture, Sexual violence, Grief, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Cursing

lex17's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical content, Slavery, and Sexual violence

fangirlsread's review

4.5

This was really poetic and beautiful, and while it has been well over a decade (probably 2) since I read the Illiad, I remembered enough to really love the foreshadowing ("What has Hector ever done to me?"). There was not as much romance as I anticipated based on people gushing about it (it's very subtle, and while it's not exactly closed door, it's pretty much literary fiction minimal reference open door), but the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, while subtle at times, is still meaningful. I also ADORED how Miller describes Thetis, and everything about her (even though she is still very much Patroclus' antagonist). It's also always nice when a story shows just how idiotic Agamemnon is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence and Rape

dazzlingreader_'s review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I think this is the saddest love story i've ever read. Heartbreaking, breathtaking, and beautifully written (also painful bc of how much sadness it has).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Abandonment, War, Sexism, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Medical content, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Homophobia, Grief, Genocide, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

norcana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Slavery, and Sexism

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Incest

dennyiii's review

slow-paced

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

1.5

This was a predictably misogynistic and fetishizing read i’m the way only a book centering gay men written by straight women can be.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexism, War, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Homophobia, and Death