Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

176 reviews

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

fox1105's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

not_another_ana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

1.25

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

Once all fighting has stopped, what happens to the women? The survivors, the wives, the sisters, the daughters, the fighters. Natalie Hynes takes the Iliad as a starting point to explore the lives of these women and the complicated and complex feelings they experience due to their fates. We get to observe the women of Troy deal with their grief after the fall of the city and their anxiousness at their unknown future, Penelope during her long wait for Odysseus and all the bitter feelings this inspires, even the goddesses make an appearance in here. Yet, with every single point of view I encountered, I still didn't feel a thing.

I think this book stretched itself too thin trying to include as many women as possible to back up its central thesis and reason of being, in an effort to cause a greater emotional impact it actually managed to do the opposite. With such a high quantity of characters, it's difficult to create interest in them or to give all the women a particular voice. On top of that you have diverse style, prose, and tone in each chapter, and a non linear narrative which muddles everything further. My experience was closer to reading vignettes than an actual fully realized book, a reference manual in a way.

My main gripe with this book is that it didn't feel like Hynes was saying anything new. In this day and age, it seems like every day there's a new "feminist" retelling of Greek myths and stories, the market is saturated enough that you need something to make you stand out and here it lacked anything distinct. I was especially bothered by the character of Calliope, clearly an author avatar, whose sole existence was to be a mouthpiece for Hynes and to go "get it?" hint hint at the reader. Yes, I actually got it from the very summary, I don't need to be led like a blind horse. For a story about women, I thought it revolved too much about the men, and yes it would be impossible to tell these stories without their influence, but perhaps the author could have focused more on the emotionality of these characters in the face of their individual situations. There was just this general sense of resignation permeating the book that made me disengage from the very beginning. Tragedy for tragedy's sake.

Some miscellaneous complaints over here. First I found the lack of Helen baffling. I could even understand the bashing from the other characters in the book, I too would be mad at her for the part she played in the conflict whether it was logical to blame only her or not, but the author not giving her a space to speak and tell her story when she is one of the pillars of the Iliad was odd. Made me think all the Helen bashing was serious and not a narrative choice by the author. I already mentioned Calliope as the author's mouthpiece, but I would also like to add that she sounded like she knew what an iPhone was and it got on my nerves. Then there was Penelope retelling the whole plot of the Odyssey to her husband... Odysseus himself, which struck me as lazy even with all the quips and petty dialog from her. The last chapter from her point of view frustrated me because it was way more interesting than all the past ones and showed the squandered promise of this book.

Maybe the feminist retelling was the friends we made along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Rape

catievalentino's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

thewillowwood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad 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

Incredible. Beautifully written, the audiobook was wonderful, first audiobook i’ve been able to complete with ease. A must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

listen, if you’ve read the iliad, similar topics and triggers apply.

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

nickdw's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual assault

oksanana31's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

garnethalo's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

While I wanted to give it a 4.75, I realized I only didn't want to give it 5 because I couldn't place blame. Unlike in Stone Blind, where I could blame Athene or Perseus, I could blame no one in A Thousand Ships. And even then the book tried to place the blame, on Helen, on Paris, Aphrodite, Eris, Thetis, Zeus. But no one can take sole blame. And this books makes you face the sorrow of the women. Without a clear cut villian. It filled it's purpose beautifully and forced the reader to stare at the victims of war, with no one at fault.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

It a story about the women affected by the Trojan war. Both Greeks, Trojans, and women nearby Troy. Greek tragedy even sadder when you consider the women. You have been warned.

codapril's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

From the time I picked up this book to the time I finished it, less than 36 hours had passed. A Thousand Ships weaved such an intricate, complex story through the many personal perspectives of different women throughout the Trojan war, and well into its aftermath. The organization of the story is a little confusing at the start, but once you piece together the timelines and story you'll see how flawlessly they all piece together, and it makes the story that much more rewarding to read. The story isn't about one woman, but of so many women's stories that were neglected, that now make a new and beautifully tragic story that is unheard of in more classic, male-leaning stories. I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading Hayne's other works of fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and War

Minor: Rape