Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

40 reviews

risaleel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Blood, Slavery, Sexual harassment, War, Child death, Violence, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit

annasbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Excrement, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War

chloj_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

review: 

first things first: i love a greek mythology retelling, and this did not disappoint. however, this is something a lot more than simply a mythology retelling. this is such an amazing reflection of womanhood. barker does such a beautiful job of relaying the female experience, with all it’s varying emotions and complexities. depictions of war are typically male dominated; blood, gore and war is so often synonymous for masculinity. while her portrayal of masculinity is complex and very well-written (particularly that of achilles), the raw vulnerability of the story’s women is breathtaking to behold. it was powerful, incredibly moving, and truly (in my opinion) a modern masterpiece.

               !!spoilers ahead!! 

• ‘his idea of female beauty was a woman so fat if you slapped her backside in the morning she'd still be jiggling when you got back home for dinner.’ damn me too 
• ‘she could’ve been kind to me and she wasn’t; she could’ve helped me find my feet and she didn’t.’
• ‘when i got to the door i paused with my hand on the latch and looked back, but she’d already turned away’ 
• the main character’s relationship with femininity is so cleverly written- both her relationship with other women, and with her own femaleness 
• ‘but the dying man, his face wiped clean of pain, cradled his spilling intestines as gently as a mother nurses her newborn child.’
• ‘“it’ll be alright,” i said, knowing it wouldn’t.’ 
• ‘he fucked as quickly as he killed, and for me it was the same thing. something in me died that night.’ 
• the emotions in this book are soooo beautiful done 
• ‘the bed was cold.’ this one sentence is so incredibly powerful 
• ‘no girl ever dressed more carefully for her wedding than achilles for the battlefield’
• ‘as long as i lived and remembered, [my brothers] weren’t really dead.’
• the relationship between briseis and iphis is SO special- it is born entirely from shared tragedy and the kindness only women can share with each other. 
• that depiction of wasteland at the end of 46/start of 47 is SUCH a beautiful depiction of the waste of female beauty (both physical and mental) at the hands of men 
• ‘the world began to close in around me, and i realised that the songs belonged to my brothers and not me’ 
• ‘i always remember that she wept for me when i couldn’t weep for myself’ 
• the list format of the people Achilles killed / how they died is SO good- it really displays how the repeated trauma and war has made tragedy something clinical.
• ‘before leaving, he always bent down and kissed him in the mouth, though the lips had darkened and begun to retract.’ 
• ‘Why him? Why not me? He asks the questions over and over, as if one day they might have a different answer, and the burden of guilt be lifted at last.’
• achilles grief is written so beautifully 
• ‘and i do what countless women before me had been forced to. i spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and brothers.’ 
• ‘now my own story can begin’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Grief, Medical trauma, Blood, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Cursing, and Pedophilia

shadi_anna's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Misogyny, Violence, Slavery, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Body horror, and Grief

nialiversuch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Animal death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Kidnapping, Slavery, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Suicide, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Excrement, Pregnancy, and Vomit

alexiasophii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

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

5.0

Wow.
This is a hefty book, before anything else, please be careful of the content warnings, they are NOT a lie or minimized, this is a very heavy, graphic and pain-ridden book. However, it is incredible. It's amazingly sad, amazingly painful, but amazing nonetheless. 
I might come back and do a bigger review later because I'm still gathering my thoughts, but I really enjoyed this book (I had a nightmare related to this book, that's how well-written it is!) and I'm planning on reading the sequel as soon as possible! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Slavery, Alcohol, Excrement, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Torture, Genocide, Rape, and War

franzeerdbeerbacke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book needs a trigger warning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Infertility, Mental illness, War, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, Deportation, Genocide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Toxic relationship

irgendwieantonia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, War, Violence, Death, Deportation, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Grief, and Sexual violence

condygurl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

Trigger warning!  There are quite a few scenes regarding violence towards children and women, these take the forms of not only physical abuse, but also rape, molestation, and murder.

This is a story of the war between the Greeks and Troy due to Helen.  Helen plays a very minor role in the story.

The story is from the perspective of a captured woman who once was going to be Queen, but instead becomes the slave to the most fierce warrior of all time.

The only part I was truly upset about is the author silencing the girls.  The beginning starts out very strong, but then we switch POV, and poof, out goes the female voice, and in comes the crazy male voice.  It also got a bit repetitive in the camp, but I guess that is par for the course because how different is daily living from day to day when you are a slave?

Very good story but I think it could have been better if the author stuck with one pov.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Murder, Bullying, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Cursing, Child death, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Death

queen_of_the_rats's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Body horror, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Misogyny, Animal death, Blood, Death, Torture, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Vomit