Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Yo que nunca supe de los hombres by Jacqueline Harpman

30 reviews

chelseaisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.25

This book will be one that sticks with me, but it’s a nightmare. Gives me the same vibes as a long Twilight Zone episode. Ultimately asking so many existential questions. 

(the broken brain part of me thought: this is the anti Ice Planet Barbarians 😂)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, and Grief

perpetualpity's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Physical abuse

iamcarlib's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. Thought provoking, intriguing right from the first page, and the writing style is very different but flows so beautifully. It was a true pleasure to read. I wish I hadn't read it so that I could enjoy it all over again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

alyssams884's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer and Grief

eevah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Torture

am193's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

This is an interesting and relatively short read. I found it sad, but also interesting as a study of what makes a person and the intricacies of human relationships when society as we know it is gone. 

I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who doesn’t enjoy books with little plot. It’s very much a book about philosophical thinking in dystopian realities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Torture

This book has very dark themes all throughout so I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who may be sensitive to tougher subject matters.

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This was a beautiful, haunting, moving book. I had put off reading it as the themes sounded incredibly heavy, but after a friend's recommendation and assurance that it was more of a reflective read I decided to tackle it. 

While the book's themes are complex, heavy, and at times very dark, Harpman's treatment of the subject matter is more meditative and philosophical than shock provoking. There are many ruminations on what it means to be human, on navigating love, gender, and human connection when you have been given no reference point. 

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who needs resolutions to their mystery fiction but if you are looking for a powerful and ambivalent piece of speculative literature I could not recommend it more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Violence and War

acgeorge's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Grief

allisoncdn's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m afraid that I did not really enjoy this much. I was expecting answers at some point of the book and felt disappointed.
I liked the questions about what makes us humans, but the plot was almost non existent.
I got bored a couple of times because not much happens and the side characters are really flat. The writing is beautiful though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Torture and Grief

sea_sea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book is not at all what I expected. It was amazingly written, but truly terrifying. Reading it made me deeply uncomfortable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment