Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

La artista de henna: Una mujer en busca de sus sueños en la ciudad de Jaipur by Alka Joshi

34 reviews

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

maybak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Physical abuse and Abortion

kris_tea516's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Book 81 of 2024

“The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi

5/5 ⭐️ 

Set in Jaipur, India in the 1950’s, this is the story of a woman who left her abusive husband to make herself a better life. The unexpected arrival of a sister she never knew existed upends life & disrupts her plans. The years of work she spent building up a reputation of an expert henna artist & medicine woman is on the line. 

This was a beautifully written story of how life never goes the way we plan but it also a redemption story for almost every character involved. It is also a story of how none of us build a life outside of community. Through our journey people help us along sometimes in a benevolent spirit & sometimes with evil intent that leads to growth in character. No one in this story is entirely good or entirely bad…well, maybe one character…

I loved this book but I will warn that it may not be for everyone. There is some pretty intense scenes & topics discussed that are definitely not for kids but also many adults might prefer to skip this book so I will list some trigger warnings:

• emotional, mental, physical, & sexual abuse (at least one horrifyingly graphic mention of sexual abuse)
• Heavy discussion & focus at times around abortion
• One very descriptive sex scene
• Prostitution
• Abandonment
• Infertility, miscarriage & still birth
• Death of a parent
• Arranged marriages
• Depression
• Suicide
• Infidelity
• Sexual harassment 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Islamophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation

nikrib's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism

briannad4's review against another edition

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, and Abandonment

Minor: Death of parent

brecklyn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked reading the henna artist. It was a unique perspective which made the story engaging and interesting. The characters were interesting and complex. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

lisettemarie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Abortion, and Classism

mother_of_theo's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism

hannazoeo's review against another edition

60% into this book, I realized it was going to be a dnf. I was enjoying parts of the story and Lakshmi as a character, aside from it being a sort of "exotic" portrayal of India written for Westerners. But then I couldn't get over the glossed-over child sexual abuse, and when the author tries to make Lakshmi's abusive ex-husband a sympathetic character. We learn that he "only" beat her because he knew about her induced miscarriages - while being in an abusive marriage she never wanted. A redemptive arc is okay... but not done in this shallow way. 

I understand that India, and especially women in that country, has had an extraordinarily difficult time with its history of child marriages and sexual abuse. But I've felt that these things can be written about with a feeling of desensitization or reasoning I can't understand. This isn't really a criticism of the author(s) and their experiences, but just a feeling that made this book not right for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Abortion, and Pregnancy