Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon

17 reviews

another_dahlia's review

dark funny informative medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

gringolet's review

dark funny informative fast-paced

4.5

An incredibly fascinating, well researched and thoughtful book; I would like to give it five stars but for the fact that, while I overall enjoyed the casual and witty tone, the narration sometimes went overboard to the detriment of the book. It felt at times like the book was apologizing for being itself, and felt the need to say "this information is boring, this topic is dull, here have a pop culture reference which will painfully age this otherwise excellent book". I found the information interesting, and I think a lot of people do, as evidenced by the success of the book, and I do wish it would have more faith in it's readers. That being said, I still wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, especially for how it dealt with slavery in ancient Rome. I can easily see (and in fact, have read) lesser books which are unwilling or unable to fully acknowledge the unbearable and overwhelming ugliness of it, to the extent of revisionism and apologetics. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Colonisation, and War

nassuada's review

dark emotional funny informative sad slow-paced

4.5

A really interesting read, particularly when the author covers how the life of women, enslaved people, and children were regarded in Rome. Her writing style really elevates the content and it reminded me of a true crime podcast (but one of the good ones where they actually respect the lives of the victims and don't just use them for entertainment value). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Abortion, and War

shelfofunread's review against another edition

dark funny informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder

penguiniq's review

funny informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

This was a tad too informal for my personal reading taste, but I can see how this prose style would make ancient Rome and the macabre topic at hand more accessible to a broader spectrum of readers.

Loved how it covered a wide range of topics, not just the Big Famous Murders. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Misogyny

anneshamitha's review

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.75

I really liked this book. I love how it grounded Rome in the slave state that it was, and never lost sight of that. I also appreciated how she walked us through her sources, including those that conflict, instead of presenting a singular narrative as fact. Unfortunately, she tries way too hard to be cool. This almost turned me off entirely, but because the actual substance of the book was so good it kind of felt like rolling your eyes at a professor who tries to be too hip, but that you like anyway because you’re actually learning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Genocide

vicious's review

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I was super excited for this book having read and thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Southon's Agrippina book a few months ago, and I was not disappointed. Southon writes as if she were sitting across from you in a bar, telling you about Roman history over a few beers and some greasy fries. Her writing is engaging, fun, and interesting. I've never been one for Roman history, but she ignites an interest inside of me purely because she makes learning about it so fun.

This book is about the complicated definition of murder from a Roman standpoint, comparing it to a modern viewpoint to realistically put into perspective just how different today's world culture is from that of ancient Rome. It's very fascinating. If you're into true crime and/or Roman history, you will love it. If you, like me, are not into either, you may still take a liking to it as I have. If only all history books were written in such a fun and engaging manner maybe more people would be interested in history as a whole.

There are some hefty trigger warnings to take into account with this book as it does detail some brutal and gory deaths. Also, definitely keep a placeholder on the footnotes; they can be a joy to read and often provide additional information.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, and Death of parent