Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

11 reviews

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I had high hopes for this book; Clytemnestra is one of the few and strongest women in greek myths and stories. I wanted to read a book that she narrates. I wanted to hear her. I wanted something new. 
There was nothing new in this book, nothing we didn't know already. 
My hopes were crashed.
I was also disappointed that in a 467-page long book, there wasn't room for her death. 
And another thing... The use of greek words, is not always right. Endings are wrong, words that do not make sense... There are even latin words. Come on people, do some proper research, will you? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Murder, Death, Child death, Rape, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

allyem_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

7.43 CAWPILE score 

I thought this was an excellent retelling of Clytemnestra’s story. I’m well versed in her myth—Aeschylus’s Oresteia was a particular focus of mine in school—so nothing in this book was technically new information to me, but I enjoyed how the author told it. The voice was very clear, vengeful and strong. Very “good for her” vibes. I mean, Clytemnestra is the original “good for her” character, really. Her motivations always made sense and she remained level-headed throughout the entire novel, which isn’t always the case in newer retellings. I’m surprised at the ending, though: it felt rather hopeful, which of course doesn’t really match the source material, but I’m not mad about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Sexual violence, Child death, Gore, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: War, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Incest, and Alcoholism

abibliophobic_nerd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Child death, Slavery, Death, Toxic relationship, War, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Outing, and Murder

Minor: Cannibalism

jessrapearce's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Physical abuse, and Slavery

Moderate: War

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

free_the_bookshelf'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? No

5.0

 This book is essentially the story of a women who’s having a good life until some dude comes in to ruin it, then repeat like six more times.

This book is brutal. It’s violent and bloody and sad. However, if you are into badass women, this book might be for you. This is a slow burn revenge story.

I’m pretty sure I heard about this on @booktalketc and I will definitely be picking up more books they recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, War, and Violence

heyshannon1229's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, Incest, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Cursing

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

heatherjchin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, War, Gore, Bullying, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Incest, Grief, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child death, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide

marieeveparentroy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Death, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and War

Minor: Animal death

ramalam98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an advance proof copy of this book.

Clytemnestra has long been one of the more vilified female characters in Greek myth, often known only as the scheming adulterer who murders her husband. Casati takes us beyond this one-line story and gives us 400+ pages of Clytemnestra's life, and it is glorious.

We follow her childhood as a Spartan princess and see how her upbringing lays the foundations of her belief system. I enjoyed the family dynamics and subplots in this section as well as a look at younger versions of some of the key players of the Trojan War (particularly Helen and Odysseus). What follows is a series of betrayals and losses that turn Clytemnestra into what she is more known as: a woman seeking revenge.

It is incredibly well-written and I loved how it balanced a discussion on the toxicity and futility of the cycle of revenge while also making us side with Clytemnestra and feel her bloodthirst.

The only other greek retelling book I have read is The Song of Achilles so I don't know if this is commonly done or not, but I do like how in Clytemnestra the gods aren't necessarily 'real'. They don't feature as characters, and there is even an alternate (though ambiguous) explanation for Helen's father (who in mythology is Zeus). 

The only issue I had with this was some pacing troubles in the first half, and two years-long time skips that mean we don't actually see the immediate repercussions/reactions to two of the most traumatic events of Clytemnestra's life. I understand that her long-weaved vengeance is the main event but would still have liked to see some more short-term reactions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Child death, and Rape

Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Incest, and Suicide