Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

35 reviews

kaileyhanrath's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Hate crime, Genocide, Antisemitism, Death, and War

Moderate: Child death, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Torture

mermaidreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

LOVED Isabelle. Appreciated the character development of Vianne. Sad but interesting view into the women’s silent efforts of WWII. Kristin has become my all time favorite author

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Rape, War, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Miscarriage, Murder, and Homophobia

kyleighf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

This one was a long read, but certainly worth it. It is love, it is war, and it gives you a twist of mystery that keeps you reading each page. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. In short, I definitely would recommend this book, but buckle up for a ride because you’ll feel every emotion right alongside every character. One of the most descriptive books I’ve read with some of the best plot, even if historical fiction isn’t my favorite genres.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Blood, Xenophobia, and Death

Moderate: Deportation, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Genocide, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Homophobia

marybsimp's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Child death, Physical abuse, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Sexism, Confinement, Deportation, Genocide, Misogyny, War, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Sexual harassment, Torture, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Cancer, Excrement, and Suicide

mattiedancer's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5 

The writing is quite stunning. The prose is beautiful, weighted, and eloquent. There were some truly stunning standalone lines, but it also had a nice cohesion. Beyond that, it wasn’t a challenging writing style to read and was well-woven into the plot. 

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

The characters were highly motivated and flawed, which meant that they felt uniquely human to me. The characterization of the Nazi soldiers was particularly detailed and complicated, leading to moments of pathos for these villains. At times, it felt like certain characters made very weird choices, but it was usually justified later. This just led to a slower understanding of characterization than I might have liked, but it wasn’t too jarring.

Plot: 4⭐️/5 

I know that this is kind of a fan-favourite book, so I’m reluctant to say this, but at times it felt like the author used trauma a bit reflexively to address human moments. Too many times did I know that a terrible scene was coming and, when it came, it was witnessed by one too many characters who we had grown to love, no matter how illogical it might be that they would have ended up witnessing it. I appreciate that this is dealing with the reality of war horrors that took place during WWII; however, at times, it just felt a bit too neat in how directly the trauma continuously happened. That being said, the overarching plot was really well done. I loved the story-within-a-story format that the grandmother at the beginning set up. Overall a solid plot with just a lot of trauma at the end. 

Post-Reading Rating:  4⭐️/5

The ending felt fine: necessary and complete. 

Who Should Read This? 

• Fans of WWII novels
• Fans of historical fiction
• Fans of Kristin Hannah
• Fans of real-life trauma books or books focusing on horrific moments

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Antisemitism, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, and Cancer

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Addiction, Infertility, and Abandonment

patslibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Vomit, and Excrement

Minor: Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Cancer

pixiebix's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

I received this book for Christmas honestly forgetting I'd ever put it on my TBR--meaning how much I loved it threw me completely off-guard. 

Sitting back and reflecting on this book, I am honestly in awe of how much I feel I've actually been through with these characters and the vastness and diversity of the landscapes The Nightingale covers. Looking back on the characters at the beginning of this book--Isabelle especially--is to reflect on a ridiculously huge yet realistic transformation. This book is painfully real and visceral and simple and raw, and the characters literally jumped off the page; absolutely everything I've read about here I feel I have actually experienced firsthand with them.

There are some images and deaths and journeys that I know will stay forever imprinted on my brain from this book--scenes with Beck and Sarah and the Pyrenees mountains; of soldiers and ravaged gardens and bleakness and fear. The Nightingale had me so friggin hooked and my mouth dry and my eyes flying across the pages trying to establish where we stand in the wake of yet another devastating event.

This book is far from flawless (hence the not-5-star rating): Isabelle's beauty, while helping to paint a picture of her character to start with, ultimately receives far too much focus and detracts from her (slash De Jongh's) bravery and status as a war hero; Isabelle's romance is written almost as an afterthought and is provided far too little page space for readers to be given even a chance to become invested in it; pacing is a huge issue, with some super relevent, super built-up parts being cut out completely

(like, how on Earth are we gonna dedicate that much time to describing Isabelle's first trek through the Pyrenees [which was incredibly described, by the way] and then just completely neglect to mention her journey back, this time alone?)

.

Regardless, this book is just so fucking devastating and really, really gets under your skin and taps into your humanity. This is so much more than yet another book about two opposite sisters: it's the very picture of resilience in the face of hardship and an ode to remembering in an age that we're prone to forgetting. I also just adore how multifaceted and layered these characters are, particularly Beck: so many authors fall prey to painting all Nazi officers in a completely villainous light, forgetting how subtly and intentionally things escalated. The words 'I'm just following orders' gave me chills every damn time. So many of those officers were just young men trying just as hard to survive and stay out of trouble as the victims, and Hannah showcases that fact while also showing the other side: the true horror of what some human beings will derive genuine joy from doing; the true perpetrators and power-hungry dictators that do sadly inhabit (and always have inhabited) this world. 

The scope this book covered while remaining focused on just two women during the war is truly so impressive, and really forces you to think about the sheer number of voices and stories that have ultimately gone unheard. 

Now to wait until the movie adaptation.    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Chronic illness

mandi4886's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

A must read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infertility, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit

gracetxgao's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts