Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Das Wort für Welt ist Wald by Ursula K. Le Guin

20 reviews

stellariasolaris's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.5

I adore this book when the focus is on the natives and absolutely hate it when it’s told from the yumens’ (humans’) perspective. I understand why Le Guin felt like she needed to include their way of thinking but it’s awful to read through and legitimately triggering at times. 

I really do wish there was another part two of sorts where we just follow the Athsheans around and explore their way of thinking - the dreaming and their relationships to one another. They’re such fascinating ideas, especially their idea of afterlife with their loved ones.

I recommend reading the introduction to the story where she explains her process behind writing it, specifically this feeling of urgency on anti-war and anti-imperialism activism. Unfortunately it’s all still relevant today.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

wynjo's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

gracethebibliofeline's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

You should absolutely read this! It was a beautiful novel, with such evocative imagery and a poignant story. The introduction of violence to a peaceful culture through colonialism is an unfortunately pertinent topic. A truly heartbreaking story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse

chumpstump's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Xenophobia

morenowagain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative 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? Yes

4.0

A very appropriate read for what's going on in the world right now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War

itsnotsarah's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

trailmixraisins's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This Ursula K. Le Guin classic is a short and bittersweet parable-like story. She uses vivid and explicit depictions of colonialism in the setting of an alien planet years in the future where humans have developed the technology to travel through space. Selver, an Athshean man, and his society are irrevocably changed after humans settle the planet to harvest wood to be sold on Earth. Though ultimately hopeful, the toll of human violence and hatred on the non-violent society puts its continued existence in jeopardy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

issyharvey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I'm always a fan of Le Guin's writing and will definitely be rereading this piece again and again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Alcohol

johnpfromkc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Good message but it was a little too "on the nose." 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

laimab's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

Another interesting story by Ursula K. Le Guin but for me, it was a bit underwhelming considering her other novels. In "The Word for World in Forest" we are presented with 3 different perspectives on the violent event of colonisation of a world, Athshea. As colonisation in the real world, this involved fiercely exploiting resources – trees for wood, an expensive commodity for a destroyed and infertile Terra, alongside using forced native work. 

Curiously, the enslavement of Athsheans was officially a Voluntary action. The truth of what was going on in Athshea was censored and undermined. It seemed as if Terrans had learnt nothing from the destruction of their own planet. The 3 perspectives introduced are:
 1) Dr. Lyubov, a sort of anthropologist eager to understand how the Ashtheans lived. However, his learnings were used to take advantage of the Ashtheans, against his will. 
2) Davidson, a racist and prepotent military man. A truly unlikable character that we're forced to follow. Every time a chapter was from his perspective we would get introduced to a disgusting bias of race and species. He was intolerant of other humanoid species, like the Urrasti and Hainish, and also intolerant of Asian and European Terrans. 
3) Selver, an Ashthean who, due to immense sorrow in witnessing his planet being destroyed and his wife violently killed, adopted violence as a means of defence. 

Ashtheans were profoundly changed by their interaction with their colonisers. As a society, they got introduced to violence that started against the colonizers and remained in their society, from then on between each other. We witness Selver becoming insane because of grief and rage. We witnessed a species that was the epitome of peaceful resort to large-scale organised violence. This transformation affects Selver intimately, affecting even his "dream-time", now haunted by Dr. Lyubov. It's sad to see how a good, fair intention led to the corruption of souls. In the journey to justice, to peace, he had to resort to extreme violence, corrupting his peaceful existence. 

I think that this is a great lesson on resistance movements, and about how when you engage in resistance, to defend your integrity or of those around you, to act on what you believe in, you are also changed and affected by the injustice. It makes you colder and it taints you. Even when you reach the objective, the violence remains in you. Through memories that won't easily go away due to the way you had to go beyond what you believe in, the way you had to make yourself be understood by using the "enemy's" methods.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault