Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Still Life with Bones by Alexa Hagerty

34 reviews

finnickdeservedbetter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Pregnancy

cmisich's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

A well written detail of not only the recovery, identification, and aftermath of genocides and the horrors in Argentina and Guatemala. It also covers the impact and hard work of those trying to bring the horror to light, identify the desaparecidos, and the challenges when those responsible still live among them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

rheagoveas's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Violence, and War

lcdavenport's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mkgiri's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

makenna_reads's review against another edition

informative sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death

joannalouise's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

savvy999's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.5

Informative, devastating and beautiful. It’s a haunting reminder of the fragility of life and importance of dignity in death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

kerishma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Part memoir, part history, part existential musings, Still Life with Bones is a thoughtfully written exploration of the discipline of forensic anthropology and the unspeakable acts of violence and rebellion that spurred its creation. It is a heavy read to be sure, but is also marked by beautiful moments of community grief, catharsis, and healing. I found parts where Hagerty brought in philosophers like Freud and Mbembe a little clumsily executed, but that's probably a personal style issue.

Not included in my rating, but: After completing this book, I perused Hagerty's website and social media and was disappointed to see that she hasn't commented or written publicly about the war in Palestine. I understand that her focus area of study is Latin America (at least, that's what I assume from the book), but as a public expert on human rights and genocide, and firsthand witness to the consequences of unchecked violence, I find it strange that she has had no public comment that I could find. It's especially disappointing because her book is a lesson not just in the memorialization of the dead, but in the efforts to fight the injustice that resulted in death and disappearance in the first place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War

apiologee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence