Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

14 reviews

spicylimewater's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annaka's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

I read this book quickly. I borrowed it from KU as an audiobook, but found myself reading it when it was inconvenient to keep listening. Elison knows how to create tension and hook a reader. I found it interesting to see how the world rebuilt after such a tragedy and think I would have enjoyed the book even more if more time had been spent on the rebuilding (versus the surviving much of it does focus on). 

I struggled with the book because of the negative perception of what humanity (particularly mankind) would turn into in this apocalyptic perception. I'm not saying it's inaccurate, but I would hope we'd do better. There was a bit of a heavy focus on sex at times, which wasn't particularly for me. Probably one of the more depressing dystopian books I've read but even so, I found it hard to put down. I enjoyed the read but I'm not sure I will pick up the follow ups in the series due to how dark the book is. I do applaud Elison's choice to have this book stand-alone and not ending on a cliffhanger. After I have some time and a palate cleanser read (or two), perhaps I will look into reading some of the others in the series. I'd be open to reading other books by this author, just maybe not ones as dark. 

Would you read the next one in the series? Possibly, more likely if less dark.
Would you read something else by the author? Yes (see above)
Would you re-read this? Probably not, it was a bit too dark for me to truly enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jessikalange's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was hesitant to read this book because I don't usually like really sad books. Even though this book is very sad, there is hope in it. I can't really explain it. If you like dystopian books, wait until you need a good cry and then read this book. Also, make sure you read the trigger warnings... There are a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Alcohol

stabilesero's review

challenging dark sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was an absolutely gut-wrenching story of love, loss, pleasure and pain set in post-apocalyse Earth where women are wiped out and babies cannot be born. 
For me, this hit hard on what it is to be a woman, what hardships it brings already and what can be further brutalised and used to others' advantage when it becomes rare. I also loved the raw description/addition of Dusty's need, want and lust for stimulation, because it added another level to this type of dystopian ficion novel that many other overlook or focus on male pleasure. 
I am thoroughly looking forward to the next two books in this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jmstorytime's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I never thought a book would ever top my favorite books of all time. This book though….chefs kiss. I devoured this beautifully written book in 24 hours. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

tr4shc4n's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abortion

katrinarose's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Extremely bleak and tough read but I could not put it down. I loved the character of the unnamed midwife and the how well the author also developed even minor characters as they appeared. I also like the alternating style of her journal and omnipresent narrative. I was taken aback at first when we learned about characters and events that the midwife did not know about but it was satisfying (although sad). I like that the author didn’t shy away from the brutal realities of this post-apocalyptic world, and didn’t sugarcoat her view of human nature, as depressing as it was. This book is definitely not for everyone (between the triggering content, narrative style, and somewhat bare plot) but I really liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abortion

thechroniclesofnadia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

hngisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy

kat1105's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail