Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

34 reviews

kiwichill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bendercath's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was an excellent book … particularly good as an audiobook. As an English major, I have had a large dose of Shakespeare and appreciated the references. This book made me get out the old Riverside Shakespeare book to reread passages in the plays. The research involved with this book is impressive.

When reading historical fiction, I often wonder how realistic women’s voices would have been in the context of the era. We cannot know for sure. The voice of Emilia was strong and felt believable to me. The voice of Melina also felt believable but did not grow in strength the same way.

This book was very long but it held my attention very well. Although it did feel a bit arduous about 70% of the way in. 

There is a lot of domestic violence in some sections of the book, so be prepared for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence

kelly_e's review

challenging informative reflective slow-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

4.0

Title: By Any Other Name
Author: Jodi Picoult
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: August 20, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Fascinating • Provocative • Dense

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—are both forced to hide behind another name to make their voices heard.

In 1581, Emilia Bassano—like most young women of her day—is allowed no voice of her own. But as the Lord Chamberlain’s mistress, she has access to all theater in England, and finds a way to bring her work to the stage secretly. And yet, creating some of the world’s greatest dramatic masterpieces comes at great cost: by paying a man for the use of his name, she will write her own out of history.

In the present, playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Although the challenges are different four hundred years later, the playing field is still not level for women in theater. Would Melina—like Emilia—be willing to forfeit her credit as author, just for a chance to see her work performed?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Anytime Jodi Picoult announces a new book, I am going to be interested simply because she is such a skilled writer and never shies away from writing about polarizing topics. Reading the synopsis for By Any Other Name I wasn't sure how her 2024 release would land for me personally. I have very little interest in Shakespeare and minimal knowledge about the theatre world. Despite those factors I knew I still wanted to read it, especially given her foray into historical fiction.

First off, this novel is incredibly well researched and skillfully written. Told through the voices of two women centuries apart, this novel tackles the historical and contemporary challenges faced by women and their plight to receive the recognition they deserve. Picoult creates two vivid timelines, two separate settings, and two distinct casts of characters, while challenging Shakespeare's authorship and offering up an alternative theory.

While I appreciated the rich historical detail and thought the dual timelines element worked well in the beginning, the contemporary storyline eventually took me out of the story. Some of Melina's actions and choices felt entirely inconsistent with what Picoult is trying to do with this narrative. I understand this timelines is needed to showcase how women continue to have to work harder to be recognized, yet it could have taken a different route and easily achieved the same goal.

By Any Other Name is unlike any other of Picoult's previous novels. Personally, I was less engaged and it took me over a month to get through, yet overall I enjoyed what this story attempts to do. I have a feeling opinions will be very split with this one, especially for anyone who goes in hoping for something similar to her previous contemporary novels. The extensive author's note at the end if a must read to offer more context and her thought process in crafting this story.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Shakespeare
• the Elizabethan era
• stories about resilient women

⚠️ CW: misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, physical abuse, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, infidelity, adult/minor relationship, epidemic/pandemic, pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, death, death of child, death of parent, grief, sexual content, classism, antisemitism, alcohol, alcoholism, toxic relationship

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Life as a woman is not without risks."

"There once was a girl who became invisible so that her words might not be."

"History is written by those in power."

"Grief was the tax of having something precious." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

megmu18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Abortion

sarahreadsssss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape

amachonis's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Cursing, and Vomit

kreglow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this one, but there were some issues. Pacing was inconsistent with the intertwining stories. The Elizabethan era portions tended to drag and the language was more melodramatic, while the modern day portion was paced well enough, but only barely touched upon the themes of sexism and racism within the theater community, instead following the heroine of the story, Melina, and a character arc that honestly is not fleshed out enough to make its intended impact. There is a romantic subplot that really doesn't make sense and feels tacked on. And the ending introduces an element of magical realism that did not exist until that point in the story. Overall, a decent read, but not perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

fionaross's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book sits at the perfect intersection of my interests: diverse theatre, reimagined classics, Shakespeare, and women. Picoult does an exceptional job connecting women across centuries through hope, family, and feminism. 

I will admit that some of Melina’s longer rants about being a white woman in the theatre industry felt rather hollow next to Emilia’s very dire complaints about the truly frightening patriarchy she lives in. This is obviously not to say that any of Picoult’s points regarding the evolution (or lack thereof) of feminism are untrue, merely that Melina’s come across as whiny and out of touch.

Honestly, I was glad that Jasper’s article was messed up and that Melina was forced to acknowledge her feminism’s blind spots. This was a great development for her and made the slightly infantilizing discussion of feminism from her more understandable. 

Regardless, I loved this novel. A beautiful narrative by a woman about the inclusion of women and the necessity of diverse stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual violence

adreaminaqua's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a dense, emotional read but I enjoyed it! You can tell a lot of research went into it and I really applaud the author for delving into it all. The story follows two timelines, Emilia’s and her descendants in current day. Both women experience injustices of all kinds throughout their lives and this is heavy but necessary to highlight. I’m glad I listened to this one on audiobook because I think the long chapters and subject matter would’ve been harder to get into for me, personally. Truly a bittersweet but good read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Antisemitism

hollispaige's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.75

Where do I even find words to explain how much I loved this book?Jodi has done it, yet again. Seeing her during the discussion of this book was a dream come true, and her excitement was contagious. The negative reviews about Jodi leaning into “current politics,” give me a break. That is what Jodi has mastered over the years time and time again. (i’m looking at you ladies) if you can’t appreciate the battles women before us struggled through, you need to REEVALUATE YOUR PRIVILEGE. Which just happens to be the highlight of “By Any Other Name” that Jodi masterfully demonstrates. What ultimately starts as a story of male privilege, quickly branches into white privilege, progressing into the discrimination of minority and marginalized communities.
  When I finally started this book, I realized it is certainly outside of my normal genre. However it is probably my favorite read of the year. This book has everything you could hope for. I laughed, I cried, I was hopeful, I was outraged. The two timelines are seamless and kept me coming back for more. This story broke my heart and put it back together, just to do it all over again. As a woman, there are so many things that have changed (fortunately), but there is still so much more to be done. Jodi tells two beautiful stories that I couldn’t get enough of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault