Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

59 reviews

clys_nyx's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Murder

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

ringofkeyz's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

felt a little long-winded at times; the primary themes were too blatantly reiterated every so often (ESPECIALLY in the back half). otherwise? good stuff. rlly solid. enjoyed the characterization a LOT: Clytemnestra and Helen, in particular.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Kidnapping

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mlander's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Blood, and Murder

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.

bookdragonkatie's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Incest

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and War

emerentina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and War

tallylook's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Rape

Minor: Incest