Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

11 reviews

arieloley's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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? No

3.5

The women affected by the Trojan war span so many ages, classes, statuses, and Haynes did an incredible job of including as many as possible. It was so refreshing to hear the classic story from a forgotten point of view, and made choosing allegiance to one or the other side a much more difficult task than it had ever seemed before. 

Some pieces of Haynes’ writing seemed juvenile, disappointing when considering her long career. This was only a slight hinderance, and most of the book was compelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Vomit and Cannibalism

nialiversuch's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annasbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

nagoatsis's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

aseel_reads's review

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

this was a great retelling of the trojan war/post-war events. it was easy to keep all the different characters in your mind and you switched from different perspectives. i liked the non-linear format of the story and Calliope's hard hitting sentences about the impact of war (lots of parts underlined). i liked that helen wasn't protrayed as the evil woman. just an overall great read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

marareading's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.25

This book is a beautiful retelling of the Trojan war from the women's perspective.  It is a very unique retelling, and I love that the author took the time to write a book that left out all the stories we don't normally get in history. This is one of the few books where I recommend reading the afterword. It is short, and packed with information about how and why this book exists. 

I did love this book. given that the women weren't actively fighting the battles, it means that the stories are more disjointed, so it almost feels like short stories put together.  It all does come together in the end. It is beautifully written. You can feel the wrath, pain, and intensity through these stories. 

If you love retellings, this is a must read for a new take on a traditional story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

ashleycmms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

thegr1mreader's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was amazing. I absolutely adore greek retellings and this women based greek retelling was beautiful. It reads in chronological order with some chapters involving the writing process of the book from a perspective of a man and letters from Penelope. It was beautifully written and so enlightening. I would 100% recommend anyone to read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense 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

 

“When a war was ended, the men lost their lives. But the women lost everything else.”

Homer’s <i>Iliad</i> has inspired generations of epic tales: tales of war, rage, violence, and glory. But these tales have been told primarily by and about men. In <i>A Thousand Ships</i>, Haynes asks: What about the women? Many of their stories have been told, yes, but as footnotes or backstories for the “real” heroes: the men. But why should heroism be confined to the battlefield? The women of Troy lose everything, but must find the courage to continue. Penelope waits for her husband for 20 years, but uses her wit to escape her suitors and stay loyal and true to her husband. 

As a rule, I prefer my stories with happy endings. I went into this book knowing that I wouldn’t get one, and worried that that would ruin the story for me, but it didn’t. The stories were told so beautifully and the endings so inevitable that I loved each one of them (even as I cried for the lost). I’ve read a lot of really incredible mythology-inspired books this year, and this was definitely one of my favorites!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Alcohol