Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

71 reviews

theglossreview's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

Atrocious. “The Shadow of the Wind“ is nothing but a series of horrible events. The plot seems like a competition between the characters: “Whose misfortune is the worst?”

There is barely a content warning to be found that does not apply to this book. The story is full of graphic portrayals of all kinds of violence and abuse. None of the characters are likeable. In the case of “The Shadow of the Wind“, this is a blessing, since everything that happens to the characters is bad. 

The sexism and misogyny is blatant throughout the book. It would have been one thing to portray these as part of the era in  which the book is set, but “The Shadow of the Wind” contains multiple characters whose only role is to enact and spew sexist, misogynist poison. This is taken so far that several characters introduce themselves through bigoted statements, as if this philosophy was the most important and first thing you need to know about them. This book does not pass the Bechdel test. The book is barely worthy of the phrase “portrayal of women”, since there are only portrayals of objects of desire, self-sacrificial lovers and devout mothers. 

Before you read this book, please take a look at the content warnings to see how vile it is. I’m shocked and disappointed to see that the average rating is above 4 stars. The content of the book deserves zero stars, however, the well-constructed mystery and beautiful writing elevate it to 2 stars. 

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annabelle193's review against another edition

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Absolut sexistisch!
Jede Frau wird sexualisiert und alle paar Seiten kommt eine neue frauenfeindliche Aussage.
Die Schreibweise und Handlung hat mir eigentlich gut gefallen. Nach 200 Seiten musste ich abbrechen, weil ich die sexistischen Aussagen nicht mehr ertragen konnte.
Von diesem Autor werde ich nie wieder etwas lesen.

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julinapril's review against another edition

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1.5

Frauen können mehr als „vor Sehnsucht mit den Brüsten zittern“! Weiter als bis S. 72 habe ich die Misogynie und Fetischisierung der „unschuldigen“ Frau - trotz sicherlich beeindruckender Sprachgewandtheit - nicht ausgehalten.

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gl00my_gh0st's review against another edition

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medium-paced

1.0

+ description of Barcelona 
- misogyny + sexism - every female character is created for the male gaze; EACH male character is obsessed with women and objectifies them
- i just didn't care that much about the plot
- to much romance

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natalija1210's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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ruby_mae_read's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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zinnia_eri's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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gillian_aftanas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5


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jackbifrost's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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kcjulia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Although I loved the literary mystery and setting,  the ubiquitous misogyny and violence is hard to handle. Women are not treated well in this book…

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