Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

8 reviews

demonicwitch12's review

dark slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Mainly sticking to this series as the idea of the book has me hooked and it's good back ground while bathing dogs at work

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kailajay's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This is not an easy read. There are significant spoilers in this review due to the nature of the book and a serious need for content warnings.

I first read this book a couple of years ago and when browsing my Kindle notebook noticed a highlighted quote from the 3rd book in the Road to Nowhere series and decided to reread the series.

The premise is a virus that sweeps (at least) America that kills 98% of men and 99%+ of women, particularly during childbirth. The US becomes a degenerative hellscape, where the straight men of the world battle for the few women left alive, and generally do horrible things to them.

The main character is assaulted within a handful of pages. There are in depth descriptions of FGM, sexual assault, miscarriage, stillbirth, child death, death during childbirth, child sexual abuse, and general violence against women. 

But it's still a deeply interesting book that draws you in. Written in a mix of direct storytelling and frantic journal entries, the 'Unnamed Midwife' is a complex and intriguing character who will do (nearly) anything to survive. We're introduced to concepts expanded on in the next books, the idea of these journals being copied over and over again to preserve both the story and the medical information, the 'wooden belly' that Ina wears, the settlement of Nowhere. 

The main character, the 'Unnamed Midwife'- she gives a different name to everyone she meets, and is an experienced midwife- goes through a long and complex journey to find her way to Nowhere, an ex military base. I don't know much about American geography but the people she meets, and the stories that she tells through them, are all incredibly gripping and while they don't always move the story onwards, they move the character onwards and build the new world up (or tear it down just that little bit more).

It's really hard to recommend this book because of how deeply dark the content is. I enjoyed this book in a very complex, rough way, but whether you want to read this needs to be a personal choice, based on whether you can process the content in a safe way. I'd advise taking breaks when you need to, even in a reasonably short book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jmstorytime's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I never thought a book would ever top my favorite books of all time. This book though….chefs kiss. I devoured this beautifully written book in 24 hours. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

alyssatuininga's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? No

4.75

 I heard about this one on NPR and it seemed right up my alley- post-apocalyptic, science fiction with a midwife as the main character. There are no zombies, aliens, or evil creatures just a plague that wipes out most of humanity, especially women. The characters were fantastic and it had a very realistic feel to it- tense, sad, lonely, hopeful, and yet utterly painful. Please note that there is a lot of violence, especially sexual violence, and death. I listened to this one on audiobook and didn’t realize when I started that it is a trilogy (from what I understand each book is about a different person in the same world). It wasn’t the most mature writing (and a few of the author’s quirks annoyed me a little) but as it was written as a journal I could mostly let them go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

abbacirc's review

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Infidelity, and Abortion

polo's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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? No

4.25

Very entertaining. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it had an interesting main character and I enjoyed the historical perspective, along with the way many stories criss-crossed into one another. 
PLEASE read the content warnings on this one before you start. Not kidding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Torture

erenreads12's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

How glorious to read a post-apocalyptic novel handled by a woman. The impact of the narrative voice is hugely important and powerful, supporting a tight, dark and surprisingly hopeful story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Outing

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Torture

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

5.0

 Really enjoyed this, so bleak and depressing but so so so good. Check the TWs!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment