leealician's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.75
mollyybrunton_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a testimonial to the existence and impact of the use of sexual assault and rape as a weapon of war, and how far spread that use is. Lamb is a war correspondent, and this book reflects how much she has travelled in that role. She reaches into history to share the stories of the women who aren't just "collateral damage" or "civilian casualties" of war, but who are both the enemy's weapons and their deepest victims of conflict. Conflict that's often started, raged, won and lost by men.
I found this book deeply harrowing. It's a brutal read - at times i had to kind of come up for air and walk away from the horrors that are described on the page. I learned a lot about different conflicts, different peoples and cultures from this book. That those passages on persecution and inequality served as a welcome break from the descriptions of women's experiences should really tell you something about the rawness and detail that Lamb goes into when she's talking about women's specific sexual assault and rape experiences. Those details are not spared and they are not glossed over. I'll admit that at times I perceived this as a negative of this book - maybe that was just a gut reaction, because I understand why she made the decision to write this book as she did, and why it's important that these stories are told. I just struggled with the level of graphic detail. But it is all too easy for some people to dismiss rape as a sexual act, as just one of those things that happens -particularly in war. Just one of those things that happen when men are away from their own women, they're lonely, they're under incredible amounts of stress, or whatever other excuses are made. And most certainly for some it's probably easy to argue that it isn't as widespread or as big a deal as the other things that happen in war, such as the loss of property and life. So evidence - like the accounts in this book - needs to be held up to show that intimacy or release or desperation are the least of the motivations behind any rape, but least of all rape in times of war. The damage that it causes is far more destructive and longer reaching than other acts of conflict. The power differential alone should tell us that that's the case but the accounts in this book are of such individual violence and systemic malice that, as hard as it is to read, it does make that argument razor sharp.
This is a very important topic to draw attention to, because it still continues. Not only are some of the accounts very recent, but the lack of trials or convictions or reparations or even apologies for past atrocities perpetuates the damage and the pain inflicted by this brutal treatment of women, including children. I have never felt so angry or ashamed to be a human as I was when I was reading this book. It's really really affecting.
I found this book deeply harrowing. It's a brutal read - at times i had to kind of come up for air and walk away from the horrors that are described on the page. I learned a lot about different conflicts, different peoples and cultures from this book. That those passages on persecution and inequality served as a welcome break from the descriptions of women's experiences should really tell you something about the rawness and detail that Lamb goes into when she's talking about women's specific sexual assault and rape experiences. Those details are not spared and they are not glossed over. I'll admit that at times I perceived this as a negative of this book - maybe that was just a gut reaction, because I understand why she made the decision to write this book as she did, and why it's important that these stories are told. I just struggled with the level of graphic detail. But it is all too easy for some people to dismiss rape as a sexual act, as just one of those things that happens -particularly in war. Just one of those things that happen when men are away from their own women, they're lonely, they're under incredible amounts of stress, or whatever other excuses are made. And most certainly for some it's probably easy to argue that it isn't as widespread or as big a deal as the other things that happen in war, such as the loss of property and life. So evidence - like the accounts in this book - needs to be held up to show that intimacy or release or desperation are the least of the motivations behind any rape, but least of all rape in times of war. The damage that it causes is far more destructive and longer reaching than other acts of conflict. The power differential alone should tell us that that's the case but the accounts in this book are of such individual violence and systemic malice that, as hard as it is to read, it does make that argument razor sharp.
This is a very important topic to draw attention to, because it still continues. Not only are some of the accounts very recent, but the lack of trials or convictions or reparations or even apologies for past atrocities perpetuates the damage and the pain inflicted by this brutal treatment of women, including children. I have never felt so angry or ashamed to be a human as I was when I was reading this book. It's really really affecting.
not_always_hope's review against another edition
5.0
Book 22/100
A couple of days ago this book popped up on my recommendations on Audible and after seeing that the author worked on Malala’s book I knew I had to read this one too.
Before I get into the review I’d like to disclaim that this is probably the hardest book I’ve ever read, a lot of stories in this book are to put it simply absolutely horrific. However that being said the fact that these stories are so hard to read is what makes the book so important, because these are real stories and happened to real people.
Lamb writes the first major account to discuss the sheer scope of sexual attacks and rape in modern conflict. She talks to the women that have experienced it first hand and gives voice to those who have been rejected by so many others. I try to make myself aware of things going on in the world but I couldn’t quite comprehend a lot of the things I was hearing.
For the last few months I have been studying Russian Politics, but no where did it even briefly mention the thousands of German women and girls that the Red Army raped. So many in fact that many German women killed themselves and their families out of the sheer terror of hearing the army was coming their way.
No one should have to live through the things the women in this book have had to endure. It makes me both devastated and appalled that our governments don’t think these things are important enough to tell us or even important enough to intervene, as they could have done on numerous occasions.
Anyone who cannot understand why we ought to help as many refugees as possible should read this book.
This book will certainly stick with me forever, and although at the moment I’m struggling to find any other reviews of this book, I think that soon people will realise the importance of it and it will become a very well known account. At least I can hope so.
A couple of days ago this book popped up on my recommendations on Audible and after seeing that the author worked on Malala’s book I knew I had to read this one too.
Before I get into the review I’d like to disclaim that this is probably the hardest book I’ve ever read, a lot of stories in this book are to put it simply absolutely horrific. However that being said the fact that these stories are so hard to read is what makes the book so important, because these are real stories and happened to real people.
Lamb writes the first major account to discuss the sheer scope of sexual attacks and rape in modern conflict. She talks to the women that have experienced it first hand and gives voice to those who have been rejected by so many others. I try to make myself aware of things going on in the world but I couldn’t quite comprehend a lot of the things I was hearing.
For the last few months I have been studying Russian Politics, but no where did it even briefly mention the thousands of German women and girls that the Red Army raped. So many in fact that many German women killed themselves and their families out of the sheer terror of hearing the army was coming their way.
No one should have to live through the things the women in this book have had to endure. It makes me both devastated and appalled that our governments don’t think these things are important enough to tell us or even important enough to intervene, as they could have done on numerous occasions.
Anyone who cannot understand why we ought to help as many refugees as possible should read this book.
This book will certainly stick with me forever, and although at the moment I’m struggling to find any other reviews of this book, I think that soon people will realise the importance of it and it will become a very well known account. At least I can hope so.
a_v_h's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Child death
aniazawislanx's review against another edition
truly the most heartbreaking book ive ever read