Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

19 reviews

paperback_moon's review

adventurous dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

3.0

This book was written with quite beautiful language throughout. There was some variation in tone to reflect the different women’s voices in each chapter, which was also good.

It was a little difficult to differentiate between original mythological stories and characters and the author’s inventions, although perhaps a better educated reader would find this easier. There was also a lot of violent description throughout that at times felt unnecessary. 

Despite the violence, a lot of the book was very emotionally well-written and many of the characters were easy to empathise with. It is true that the effect of war on women and children is often considered in a single sentence, perhaps a death toll, rather than in personalised stories. This was therefore more emotive for women to read, I think. 

It was clear that the author’s intention here was to bring to light the experiences of women in Greek mythology, since these stories are often sidelined. Perhaps this was a new perspective at the time of writing, but to me it now feels a little overdone and unnecessary. Greek retellings are very popular at the moment, and I wasn’t sure if this book was truly trying to tell the stories of women, or just capitalising on the popularity of both feminism and Greek mythology. Because of this mix of perspectives too, there was regular switching between characters that did lend the story some confusion (especially with all the Greek names!). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

kris_tea516's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is a modern epic. It follows the time just after the Trojan War and in parallel with “The Odyssey” but from the perspective of the women. This book tells the story of several women including Eris (goddess of discord & strife), Penthesilea (an Amazon queen), Thetis (mother of Achilles), Oenone (Paris’ wife), Penelope (Odysseus’s wife), and a few others. 

I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book at first. There were so many perspectives & I was worried I was going to get lost in all the characters but the author did the narration for the audiobook and did an amazing job. She added sigh’s, sarcasm, and passion where just reading the physical book I think I would have missed. 

Since this follows the aftermath of war, especially ancient world war, it deals with a lot of really hard realities that most definitely happened to the conquered people, particularly the women & children. It discusses the killing of children and the elderly, the enslavement and rape of women, the trauma of mothers losing their children and husbands (even a very traumatic scene where an infant is murdered). I know these things did (and likely still do) happen & it is good for us to face the realities of war & consider the cost but it is still very difficult to read. There were times I had to take a break to keep from breaking down. 

I will say, my favorite character is Penelope and her “letters” to Odysseus and her growing anger and irritation with him. Her sarcasm was excellent and I wanted cry out, “You tell him, Penelope!” 

If you enjoy Greek history and mythology, especially “The Iliad” &/or “The Odyssey,” I would highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

averyb35's review

dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.75

Read for Marks's Heroes of Troy Class, reread to finish the chapters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chingona_solo's review

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Generally hate ancient Greek telling, but while this is not a "fresh" telling by any means, it definitely was entertaining. Just proves that white men ain't shit lol.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Murder

brianvirgil's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Rape, Grief, and Death of parent

khaleesiofthegreatwhitenorth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A little slow to start but even in those moments the content itself was well-written. A must read for anyone with any level of interest in the legends of Troy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Child death and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse

dniespal's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

p1gu1's review

challenging emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i loved every second of it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

spooderman's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

anousha_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense

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

5.0

SO so wonderful! I loved getting to see all sides of the war and truly seeing it from the perspectives that simply don't get shared. It asks all the hard questions that the bards don't answer, "What happens to the women and children who survived after the Greeks won the Trojan War?", "What about all the wives who lost their husbands and children who lost their fathers?", etc. I feel like I have a much better understanding on it now, and I actually preferred this to any other recounting and the Iliad and Odyssey themselves. It covers the entire story (for the most part), this time including the women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

just be forewarned, typical greek mythology stuff.