Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

L'odyssée de Pénélope by Margaret Atwood

5 reviews

kjm19's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.5

The ending was so good. 

Parts of it felt too conversational and contemporary for my liking - but I appreciate this was intentional. 

Loved the elements of poetry and stage play writing, it was very impactful in telling different sides of the story. And I enjoyed that Penelope’s prose was diaristic mainly and set in the present. 

The last few chapters were very good and I managed to finish them in one sitting after spending a while reading the initial 65% of the book. The whole 12 maids imagery analysis - chefs kiss - and then their never-ending revenge on him in future lives. 

‘We’re no more real than money’
‘Pretty maids, all in a row’

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Infidelity and Kidnapping

richardgarrardsm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

A brilliant and acerbic retelling of a Homeric classic. Very fast-paced (I finished it in a day), but very absorbent. Atwood’s talent for storytelling doesn’t diminish throughout the book, telling the story from multiple different angles and settings. The feminist inversion adds a lovely touch to the source material, a most patriarchal of all poems. Overall, a very slick and highly readable tale.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I love a good myth retelling, especially when a voice is given to a woman who has been denied a voice. Margaret Atwood has always been good at giving voices to just such women. This was an emotional read. My heart goes out to Penelope. It's so easy to forget she suffered at home, alone, when you read about Odysseus traveling the world and having adventures. It's unfair to her, and this book reminds you of that and makes you feel what she felt. My only wish is that she had gotten a happy ending after all she went through.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gore, Incest, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

podanotherjessi's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was very disappointing. I went in expecting this to be the femminst story of the maids, and instead I got slut-shaming and girl hate and perpetuation of misogyny. It would be easy to blame this on it being outdated, but I'm not sure that's even what's to blame. In any case, I think we can leave this in the past.

Characters: 4
Plot: 7
Setting: 6
General appeal: 5
Writing style: 8
Originality: 6
Ending: 4

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Kidnapping