Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Dochters van Sparta by Claire Heywood

10 reviews

larade's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

In her novel, Heywood builds on the well-known myths surrounding Helen and Klytemnestra by adding historically authentic details and giving the two women room to reclaim their respective narratives. 

For a while, I was sure this would be a five star read! I loved hearing about the sisters' different approaches to the fates they were handed and thoroughly enjoyed the way the narrative was built up. The pacing was great up until the beginning of the Trojan War when it, unfortunately, changed drastically. 

I understand why the author did not want to linger too much on this timespan, given how many other novels are already covering it extensively. Nonetheless, the frequent time jumps made the story suddenly feel unnecessarily rushed and made me lose grasp on the characters. Helen, who had been so promising before, suddenly became incredibly shallow - to a point where I felt as though I was reading about an entirely different person. While I still enjoyed Klytemnestra's chapters, the way her storyline was cut off did not work for me at all and made me wonder whether there would be a sequel. (There isn't. You'll have to go back to the Greek tragedies for that.) 

All in all, this book had a lot of potential. The writing is great! About two thirds of the story are incredibly reflective and emotional! I just wish it hadn't steered off track as much as it did towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Suicide

cpratreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.0

I really enjoyed this! I thought that Heywood wrote the sisters with such love and compassion that it helped me connect and feel for them. A sad story, but history always seems to be for women. 

4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide

shan_lou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

hayleemarie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

isusp_65's review

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Het is interessant om de Griekse mythes te bekijken van een vrij ongekend perspectief, vooral zoiets bekends als de Trojaanse oorlog. het is een erg tragisch verhaal en je hebt medelijden met karakters terwijl je ze ook verwijt. De nederlandse vertaling was op sommige momenten wel storend maar de schrijfstijl was over het algemeen goed. Het leest gemakkelijk met een snel plot. Voorkennis van de karakters en mythes is wel nodig. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, and War

Moderate: Rape and Murder

Minor: Suicide

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

This is a fantastic retelling of the stories of two of the most vilified women in Greek mythology. This book focuses heavily on Helen and Klytemnestra’s childhood experiences and how the small differences in them result in drastic differences to their behaviour as adults. The author provides us with a level of depth to their characters that isn’t provided in the source material, making them so much more sympathetic than many other interpretations have. Of course they have their flaws and make their mistakes, but since we clearly understand their motivations we have no choice but to root for them regardless. The prose is excellently written and gives a clear voice to both women’s feelings. And the men? We love to hate most of them, as it should be. 

My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Period-typical attitudes towards women

abfabulous17's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide

sadiesupercynski's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was heartbreaking for many reasons and in many ways. There were several dark and difficult themes explored, which is something I like in a book but may not be for everyone. 

Daughters of Sparta is a fascinating version of the magnificent Trojan war mythology, told from two new points of view: the women behind the scenes of the original telling, Klytemnestra and Helen. Through these points of view, you are given glimpses into the challenges, heartbreak, cruelty, loneliness, grief, strength, and regret these characters face due the suppression of women, the liberties of men, and the casualties of war. 

Rather than being characters or presence in this retelling, the gods and goddesses from the original telling are given a backseat as simple idols of a belief system, giving the story a more historical, realistic feel rather than a supernatural one. 

Be sure to check out the content warnings before diving in, as many heavy and triggering topics play a role in this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage

mollywill's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Murder, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide

lian's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide, Violence, and Abortion