Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

27 reviews

streamthief's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Amazing book, wonderful retelling of the Iliad from the pov if Briseis, a captured and enslaved queen from Troy who becomes an object of conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon. It shows Achilles, and other Greek heros, as being complex people who can do awful things. Nearly all the male characters have slaves, some used for sex and other just for labor. I think largely the point of the book was to demonstrate that instead of simply retelling the tale of Troy. The book is fundemntally about Achilles and his story, but isn't told from his perspective. The writing was magical, and everything was paced in such a lovely way. It wasn't as 'enjoyable" of a read as other books may be, but it was engrossing and really makes you think. I read the entire thing in a day.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Colonisation, and War

nicolesr1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Slow burn for the first 20-30 pages then finished it in one sitting. Challenging read that left me sobbing by the end. 
I don’t think the blurb gives a realistic view of how the novel will handle Briseis’ story as well as the other women involved, as I felt it could have given more of a voice to them. I felt the end of the novel was rushed and could have done more to explore the women’s feelings and experiences as the myth wraps up. 
The unexpected shift from 1st to 3rd person was jarring and occasionally brought me out of the narrative. Overall I enjoyed the read after I was able to push through the gruesomeness but it is about War and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of battle. A realistic depiction but lacking the depth of the female characters that I was hoping for. It is refreshing, yet horrific, to read something that focuses on the women effected by war and the realities of life in times of conflict rather than just another retelling of the heroes whose names we all know. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

elizabethchoi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

lolavalls's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

radfordmanor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Incest and Alcohol

padlecat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

joyfayrweather's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? No

4.25

I enjoyed this book. It is similar to song of Achilles but also shows a darker side to both Patroclus and Achilles. Breseis is a compelling storyteller, sometimes making jokes at the darkest of times. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment