Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'
The Equestrienne by Peter Sherwood, Julia Sherwood, Uršuľa Kovalyk
2 reviews
christinecc's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A devastating snapshot of a girl, her love of horses, and a world she lives in.
Warning: this is not for the faint of heart. It's not a happy tale, and it does include self-harm, parental abuse, and sexual assault, if that's something you would like to know up-front.
Slovak author and playwright Uršula Kovalyk gives us the story of Karolina in under 100 pages. Karolina comes of age in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. She isn't someone who could achieve her dreams in her circumstances. But she still has them. Not just that, but she pursues them! And the pursuit, in the midst of a totalitarian regime that affects everything and everyone around her, does not leave her unscathed. It's about seeking control and love of life in a world beyond your control. About how things you will never be able to affect can still destroy everything you touch, and about trying to make good in spite of all this, because what else CAN you do?
Recommended if you feel up to a bleak albeit moving read set in the Soviet (and post-Soviet) block. It's probably unfamiliar to many anglophone readers, but still worth the short time needed to start and finish it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Parthian Books for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Warning: this is not for the faint of heart. It's not a happy tale, and it does include self-harm, parental abuse, and sexual assault, if that's something you would like to know up-front.
Slovak author and playwright Uršula Kovalyk gives us the story of Karolina in under 100 pages. Karolina comes of age in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. She isn't someone who could achieve her dreams in her circumstances. But she still has them. Not just that, but she pursues them! And the pursuit, in the midst of a totalitarian regime that affects everything and everyone around her, does not leave her unscathed. It's about seeking control and love of life in a world beyond your control. About how things you will never be able to affect can still destroy everything you touch, and about trying to make good in spite of all this, because what else CAN you do?
Recommended if you feel up to a bleak albeit moving read set in the Soviet (and post-Soviet) block. It's probably unfamiliar to many anglophone readers, but still worth the short time needed to start and finish it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Parthian Books for giving me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide
theodenreads's review
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I'm not 100% sure how best to review this, so I'm going to go ahead and give it a solid 3 stars.
This brief story follows the character Karolína as she comes of age in the 80s, in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. From the standpoint of historical fiction, it proved to be a very interesting glimpse into what life was like for our main characters, especially as the regime fell apart and transitioned away from totalitarian rule, and seeing the way that shift impacted the various characters.
However, there was also a side plot of sorts about Karolína being able to see into people's souls and see who they were on the inside, and that bit was very weird. A lot of the "inner people" that Karolína saw felt a lot like caricatures, and I'm not quite sure what the point of it was or what was trying to be said there, or if it just somehow went over my head.
There was also a lot of bizarre and explicit sexual content throughout this story that I didn't expect to be there going into it.
I'd say the biggest content warnings to keep note of are the sexual content, lots of drug/alcohol use and abuse, parental abuse, and sexual assault/harassment
This brief story follows the character Karolína as she comes of age in the 80s, in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. From the standpoint of historical fiction, it proved to be a very interesting glimpse into what life was like for our main characters, especially as the regime fell apart and transitioned away from totalitarian rule, and seeing the way that shift impacted the various characters.
However, there was also a side plot of sorts about Karolína being able to see into people's souls and see who they were on the inside, and that bit was very weird. A lot of the "inner people" that Karolína saw felt a lot like caricatures, and I'm not quite sure what the point of it was or what was trying to be said there, or if it just somehow went over my head.
There was also a lot of bizarre and explicit sexual content throughout this story that I didn't expect to be there going into it.
I'd say the biggest content warnings to keep note of are the sexual content, lots of drug/alcohol use and abuse, parental abuse, and sexual assault/harassment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Moderate: Ableism and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault
More...