Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

4 reviews

any_bethany's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

4.0

A brutal, visceral and important portrait of male violence and the way it distorts, destroys and stains lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Infertility, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, and Torture

abbie_'s review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.0

I finished The Bass Rock earlier in the week, and while it started out really strong, it ended up only being a middling read for me. I feel like Wyld had a great story with Ruth and Viviane, but then her publisher was like nah I think three would be better, so she had to quickly weave in Sarah’s storyline. It truly felt forgotten about, her share of chapters was nowhere near equal and every time I came across one it’d take me ages to remember what had been happening.

It’s not an easy read, as each of the narratives follows three generations of women, against the backdrop of the Scottish coast, whose lives are constantly being determined by the men in their lives. I found Viviane’s storyline the most compelling, especially with the addition of Maggie, a sex worker down on her luck who pulls no punches. Ruth’s storyline was also engaging, as she struggles to adjust to being a mother figure to her husband’s young boys, still grieving the death of their mother. But at times I thought Wyld was trying to tackle too many tough topics at once and as a result, they weren’t done quite enough justice.

Overall, a slightly muddled read that felt a bit heavy handed at times, but not mad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia

azebrareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Ableism, Bullying, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

corneliusmcstrawberry's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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? No

4.0

this book was dark. personally i am a fan of dark, challenging pieces of literary fiction, so this was up my alley. this author's use of different types of perspective (first person, third person omniscient/limited) is genius; once i realized why she chose to play around with perspective the way she did, it all clicked, and i loved it. good use of motifs as well, and great attention to detail/subtlety. the fox and the wolf are recurring motifs throughout this book and i enjoyed the symbolism. this is a story about patriarchal violence, and how society has allowed it to fester and ruin the lives of so many women across generations, in ways big and small. potential spoiler ahead (?):

Spoiler

the character maggie was my favourite - such a complex character, and her dialogue is a breath of fresh air that cuts through the fog and unapologetically hands you the message of the novel.

also, the prologue of this novel!!!! one of the best i have read. it sets the tone for the novel and frankly, it did have me hooked on the book from the beginning. i found parts of this book to be quite thrilling, as well as blunt and - as i have already stated - dark. if you are looking for a distinctly feminist novel, this is a great book to try. it was weaved together so well, the stories of the three women - sarah, ruth, and viviane - as well as those of the side characters have been braided together. this was a great read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Minor: Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy