Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

8 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

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

annakh16's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

galexy_brain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I found it incredibly realistic that the women in this novel didn't necessarily realize that some of their thoughts and belief patterns about themselves and about other women were because of the patriarchy they are under.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Infidelity, Vomit, Cannibalism, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah984's review against another edition

dark informative 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? It's complicated

3.0

I liked the idea of this book, focusing on war’s effects on women and a sort of discussion on the meaning of heroism, but the execution just felt really weak to me. The muse character basically outright states the book’s theme at least three times, in case I somehow missed it, the overpopulation motif with Gaia is boring and ridiculous, and the tone of some parts is really weird (Penelope’s letters at times feel like a comedy sketch). The book also mostly focuses on noblewomen and goddesses which I feel is a missed opportunity in a book about women and war.

The chapter about the Amazons was interesting though and I found Cassandra’s point of view compelling, so three stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Eating disorder, Incest, and Cannibalism