Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

11 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I liked the story. I like most of the mythology. I did not love the storytelling. While I appreciated the retelling through her eyes, I spent way too much time looking up characters I couldn't remember from my Classics studies from over 30 years ago - the key motivation for what happened to Iphiginia, for example and all the other minor characters - which were historically known and which ones the author created. However, I think if the author writes a follow up of Elektra's story, I might be readier for it (hopefully, I'll remember a lot of what I researched today).

I've always hated Freud (he's a horrible misogynist), and of course I cannot help but think of him with the name Elektra. I hope Elektra's voice is claimed for herself as well in a way that lets Freud suck it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

audreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

All my homies hate Agamemnon!

Book is beautifully written. It’s a challenge to write this time period in a way that’s still easy to consume but this book definitely accomplishes that. It’s also super difficult for me to keep up with a lot of characters, but the descriptions and callbacks were so good that I rarely had to look back at the character list (which is also helpful)! I do feel like some scenes and details could be cut. While the book wasn’t especially long, it took me longer to get through than I expected. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in Greek mythology and/or female rage, with the caveat that you should definitely read the content warnings first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and War

Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

I listed a ton of content warnings, yes, but most of them overlap for the same scenes and passages. The book is pretty honest about the treatment of people in this time, particularly women, so there are a lot of traumatic topics. I struggled with the amount of SA occurrences, but not so much that the book wasn’t worth it. Much of the book is dark, but moves on quickly and the end leaves you with some spark of retribution.

inkwellimps's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and War

raebae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nehaanna's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

4.75

The retelling of female mythological characters is a delicate execution. This novel seeks to excavate the life and thoughts of one of the most ruthless women in Greek mythology, the wife of the ruthless king Agamemnon. This novel undertakes the retelling of Clytmnestra’s life from childhood to middle age as she rules in the absence of her husband during the famed Trojan War. This book is very similar to other feminist retelling of myths such as the novel Kaiyeki. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, and Alcohol

awhitacre's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

alice_underland's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

This book made me cry so much

I already knew the story of Clytemnestra going into it and Costanza Casati was able to bring so much more depth to the main character. 

Whether you’ve read the play and read a retelling or simply wanted to read about a complex and strong women character, look no further. Casanti does an amazing job of expanding on Clytenmstra’s life and of her family.
I looked forward to what books this amazing author had to bring.

I cannot state how much I cried, I normally rip through books in a day or two, but this book I had to put down and simply let my tears escape. Even before the tragedies occurred such as Iphigenia’s death i would weep. I felt like this book was written knowing that I would know what was to come and still rip the rug from beneath my feet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

adayania's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

fragrant_stars's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

Another book I could hardly bear to put down! I loved the writing style, and I really couldn't help but root for the main character. As a lover of Greek mythology I had some idea of how this story would unfold already, and this version of events didn't disappoint. The ending was a little more open than I'd have liked, but overall satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation