Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Grotesco by Natsuo Kirino

8 reviews

readersbutterfly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

So much of this was hard to read, which may be in part due to the translation. I think this book actually dragged on quite a bit, but it has made me think a lot about how women in Japanese society actually grow up. There is so much idolization of Japan’s culture, so much skimming over weird subtext in anime, blatant misogyny. While this is fiction, fiction holds a grain of truth. I think that’s what is unnerving about kirino’s writing. However wild she may dive, it never seems too wild. Graphic book, trigger warning for everything! I will also add that I did enjoy the emboldening of sex workers, even if they came from wildly different perspectives. Too often this world has been trained to think of them as as revolting whores or lustful accompaniments to men’s revulsion. But this paints women’s sexuality as their own, as sex work being a basis of freedom and accompaniment and success for others, truly, and points out how misogyny is known to the sex worker too, and the only difference between disgust with a sex worker’s johns and a sex worker’s own disgust, is that the johns can get away with killing them for it easier.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

phantomfighter724's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

peach0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Incest and Misogyny

bitchigo's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, and Classism

umibozus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Incest, Misogyny, and Murder

sspaghettiboness's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

First of all, this book is beautifully written. I don’t read female authors as often as I’d like, but I felt such a deep kinship with this book as it explored things like female rivalry, ageing, and a culture which commodifies sex and youth. 

The diary sections are, by far, the most fun and interesting to read. Kirino does such a fantastic job of maintaining her high level writing while also giving each character a distinctiveness it’s impossible to doubt who is who. 

Overall it was a great read, there are some slow patches which I found less than engaging, but this is a book worth sticking with! Very thought provoking about some heavy subject matter while unfolding at a true crime pace. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Fatphobia, Incest, Excrement, and Murder

ceciliabereadin's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

This book needed to be 100 pages shorter but other than that, I found it so interesting 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

katiieecat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Dementia, and Death of parent