Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Perish by LaToya Watkins

17 reviews

editorsel's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

In Perish, we get a look into such a complicated, painful, and tender family portrait that spans generations and cycles of violence within a Black family in Texas.

We follow several different POVs and timelines, and while the writing and storytelling was beautiful, I found the numerous perspectives, coupled with the intricate webs of sodomy and abuse, to be difficult to keep track of, both logistically and emotionally. I found myself wanting to follow certain characters more, and even wanting a bit more resolve for certain plot lines. I think focusing on so many different characters that shared the same threads of abuse in its many forms made it so that each character became only their facet of abuse. 

Overall, though, this book really pushes you to consider the extent to which people deserve forgiveness, what is necessary for yourself and others to heal, and to better understand the complexity of where generational trauma and abuse starts and ends. It’s heavily a character driven book, with little plot outside of that, but certainly an impactful read, but not an easy or enjoyable read, personally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence

grantscheppler's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Dementia

bookishmillennial's review

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I don’t know why Grandmoan who she is, but I ain’t got to understand her. Sometimes we don’t get to understand things. People. We just got to try to be better than the things that spit us out. 

This is an incredibly heavy read about generational trauma about a Black family in the south (Texas & Arkansas). The matriarch of their family is dying, and her family confronts the trauma they have put each other through. It pretty much starts off with pain, and just does not stop. It spans times from the 50s to current day, and every single family member is quietly suffering from the wounds that have been inflicted on them by others. You know the phrase “hurt people hurt people”? This book exemplifies and delivers that tenfold. 💔

I will say that it ends on a hopeful, brave note for one of the characters and her kids, as she decides they must talk to each other, and they cannot keep secrets from each other like she did with her siblings and older generations. She recognizes what kept them from healing, and she vehemently wants to break that cycle, because she wants better for her kids. She even notes that she doesn’t believe making a bad choice or harming someone makes the person who hurt her a bad person, but she just knows he is bad for her and her kids right now. That’s so gracious and compassionate of her to recognize, and more forgiving than most folks would be. It’s admirable, it’s devastating, and it’s incredibly raw. 

See content warnings below and take care while reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

carollynnw's review

trauma porn. i skimmed the last two chapters to see if it got better and it was worse.  there are so many talented black authors and this one creating a story with constant horrific multigenerational abuse and abusers 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

nicoleisalwaysreading's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

a haunting, horrific story of abuse and the way it repeats itself and echoes through a family. It’s well-written with complex characters, but the content was very hard to stomach, especially towards the end (as in, I literally felt sick the last 50 pages or so) another note is that it became very confusing to keep track of the family members because their voices were not very distinct 

I didn’t feel that it resolved itself narratively and the shock ending felt ridiculous. It’s just hard because the story of trauma and potential healing/breaking free of generational patterns is important, but this story left me feeling hopeless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

every. single. content. warning.

lavenderdolmeh's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

arguhlincozzi's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Amazing but extremely painful book, even though it's all handled with care by the author. Important book.

addimop's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

painful read but so worth it. the characters were so well developed and the book really highlights the impact of generational trauma 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, and Sexual violence

julsmarshall's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

While beautifully written, this book was difficult to finish and I had to keep taking breaks. The most raw and open exploration of intergenerational violence I’ve ever read, the way that this family both perpetuates and survived sexual, emotional, and physical abuse is heartbreaking. All the CW on this one, a love for the characters kept me listening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

voodoolobster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment