The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
lautlines's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Rape, Body horror, Murder, Death, Animal death, Blood, Slavery, and War
annasbookreviews's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
        !!spoilers ahead!!Â
- âhis 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.â damn me tooÂ
- âshe couldâve been kind to me and she wasnât; she couldâve helped me find my feet and she didnât.â
- âwhen i got to the door i paused with my hand on the latch and looked back, but sheâd already turned awayâÂ
- the main characterâs relationship with femininity is so cleverly written- both her relationship with other women, and with her own femalenessÂ
- âbut the dying man, his face wiped clean of pain, cradled his spilling intestines as gently as a mother nurses her newborn child.â
- ââitâll be alright,â i said, knowing it wouldnât.âÂ
- âhe fucked as quickly as he killed, and for me it was the same thing. something in me died that night.âÂ
- the emotions in this book are soooo beautiful doneÂ
- âthe bed was cold.â this one sentence is so incredibly powerfulÂ
- âno girl ever dressed more carefully for her wedding than achilles for the battlefieldâ
- âas long as i lived and remembered, [my brothers] werenât really dead.â
- 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.Â
- 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 menÂ
- âthe world began to close in around me, and i realised that the songs belonged to my brothers and not meâÂ
- âi always remember that she wept for me when i couldnât weep for myselfâÂ
- 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.
- âbefore leaving, he always bent down and kissed him in the mouth, though the lips had darkened and begun to retract.âÂ
- âWhy 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.â
- achilles grief is written so beautifullyÂ
- âand i do what countless women before me had been forced to. i spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and brothers.âÂ
- ânow my own story can beginâ
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
amphytrite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Animal death, Suicide, Confinement, Medical trauma, Murder, Slavery, Child death, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Fire/Fire injury
Content warning: plague, ratsnialiversuch's review against another edition
- 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
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
redheadorganist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Medical trauma, Blood, War, Murder, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Pregnancy and Alcohol
queen_of_the_rats's review against another edition
- 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
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
velokei's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.25
I like it in the way you like an ugly but healthy puppy, is it ugly? Yes, but itâs still living and breathing and you end up developing an attachment to it anyway. I could barely put it down, but at the same time I really wanted to put it down.Â
Briseis (our main character) is boring and just bland. I donât like her and that should not be the case! In a book supposedly meant to be centred around women, why is there only one womanâs pov but two mens? And why are both the men far more interesting than the woman? Pat if you wanted to write specifically just about Patroclus and Achilles, thatâs okay! My favourite parts of the book involved just the two of them.Â
I also donât get why the last line is âNow, my own story can beginâ if the books whole point was supposed to be the story of Briseis, and I didnât like the changes to the myth including who she marries and
Tldr
Loved Patrochilles momentsÂ
Hated Briseis she was boringÂ
Didnât like the changes to the mythÂ
This didnât feel very feministÂ
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Vomit, Sexism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and War
beauvisseau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Although the main character, Briseis, does not have a highly developed character, I feel that it fits with her state of being. The grief of losing her loved ones but also one's self can turn you into a shell of memories and thoughts.
One point of criticism though, is that I would have liked to see more perspectives of different women there. It is a missed opportunity to switch between Briseis, Patroclus and Achilles, when two of those three narratives have already been explored for centuries but so many narratives are missing.
Amazing work of fiction that truly expands upon the existing narratives and opened my eyes to many new ideas about war, feminism, story-telling, slavery and power. Would recommend to anyone.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Genocide, Gore, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia
magmck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt