Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

19 reviews

kiramke's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I'm glad this book exists for people who need it. But it was a drudge of a book, not well-written except maybe to a very specific target audience.  That does not impact my sympathy for anyone in any similar situation, of course.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

myachap's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

Its an important read. Its also important that its difficult to read. It tells the very real story of a family of women navigating being a woman within the context of religion, patriarchy, immigration, and society. It is supposed to be difficult. It is a great representation of the complex relationship between womanhood, themes of domestic and sexual violence, and the societal understandings of these, particularly within a cultural context.

With that being said, and I just want to note that I completely acknowledge that the novel is influenced by the author's own experiences and I by no means wish to invalidate that, I felt the novel did lack nuance. I completely feel the book has a powerful message and aims to erase and challenge the mindset many women, and then their children, are forced to believe, however it takes a long time to get there. It was often repetitive and while you do see character development and some redemption, I think the book sometimes struggled to balance the negative concept that all women are oppressed and its positive message that women have choice. But ultimately, I suppose its point is to show that unfortunately oppression and abuse is so widespread and ingrained. The novel is not supposed to be happy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse

arszania's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

misslaurenreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Honestly this book was incredible. A lot of reviewers say it was repetitive, but bear in mind it is being told from three different perspectives so some of it is bound to repeat. It is a beautiful story of the strength of women and will definitely stick with me for a while.

the plot twist at the end?? So many different theories I may or may not have googled. The plot twist really is what knocked it down from 5 stars for me. I needed one more chapter…. Or even paragraph really… to give an explanation of what happens after the subway doors open.

all in all, it was a great read and I highly recommend it - just make sure you’re in the headspace for something pretty dark.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, and War

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This was a rough one, and I was surprised that it was on Jenna Bush Hager's reading list, but I'm probably judging her unfairly based on her father. I thought the book unfolded very well, and I will definitely read this author again. Lots of digging fingernails into legs, though. Maybe that was on purpose to connect the generations of women?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Child death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Car accident, Alcohol, Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Infertility

machenn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

youweremycrown's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

i read one star reviews for this book and y’all are dumb… the repetitiveness is the fucking point??? every day is the same??? bc they feel like they have no other option.. duh. their life is a cycle.. get pregnant, do chores, deliver baby, care for baby, cook meals, raise child, get shamed by family, repeat..
anyway i loved this but check the trigger warnings bc it’s heavy and it depicts abuse like on the fucking page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

meaghanslibrary's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

I think it was really good but I also maybe wouldn’t recommend it to everyone because of the strong themes. I do wonder how much is based off of the author’s life because it was interesting reading her end thoughts about the book and it seems like it is really semi autobiographical. I think more of it is about her life then I initially thought. It was interesting to hear how she wrote this as a story fiction because she was afraid of what her family might think but yet she was also trying to break the silence and balance that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Abortion

Minor: Body shaming, Classism, War, and Confinement

sarahmarie094's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, and Child death

carolyn84'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Car accident, and Child death

Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Abortion, and Alcohol