Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

75 reviews

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent

izypup's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Child abuse, Animal death, Confinement, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Misogyny, Mental illness, Stalking, Sexism, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders

lunalorenne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

While the prose ran a bit too purple at times making certain passages sound pretentious in their reach to sound intelligent and profound, this book gave me chills. I actually appreciated having Ansel’s POV and I thought putting it in second person was an interesting creative choice. I liked the push and pull his story had on my heart where I hurt for the child and burned with rage for the man he turned into while understanding that society and the system failed him and thus failed those women. I appreciated how the women’s voices were the focus of the story and that it explored the complicated and messy feelings that they grappled with throughout their lives. The book truly explores the ways that violent men’s actions ripple out into a collective female trauma that is both unique to each woman and universal in its impact. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Blood, Addiction, and Alcoholism

thecheeseowl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

This book held up a mirror to reality. If Ancel Packer was on 2020 I don't think anyone would bat an eye. The cruelty of the world is on full display.

This story similar to Ancel himself was truly fascinated with morality and what serial kills say about humanity as a whole along with what does love truly look like and how can something like love be corrupted. 

There have been people who argue that the book is too sympathetic to Ancel. I disagree throughout the whole book until I got to the end where now I understand what they were saying. But I would still argue that the book isn't arguing that Ancel is a good person it is just arguing that he is a person. That there was something there that could have been but wasn't because of what he did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Child abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Racism

Minor: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction

vanessa_black_03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This book will make you think and think. It should be read by everybody who has ever thought about the person behind the unmistakable cloud of death by a killer. 
Shows us how circumstances lend to our making but justifying anything you do with it and not acknoledging a problem within you is all that makes the difference

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood and Stalking

Minor: Car accident

tearearly's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Body horror, and Death of parent

geminireader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A deeply challenging, disturbing novel. Undoubtedly worth the read. I don’t think I need to delve into it more; the synopsis perfectly covers what is about and how thought-provoking it is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Death, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, and Misogyny

imogenlj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

When I finished this I felt like I'd been punched in my diaphragm- it's devastating, righteous and empathetic, yet hopeful. I felt tense the entire time I was reading. I want to push this into the hands of anyone fascinated with True Crime and say 'Look! It's not about the killers!' It doesn't dwell too much on anything but this is a dark book so check trigger warnings if you're keen to avoid something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Murder, Child death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Self harm, Drug abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexual assault

earth2sammi's review against another edition

dark tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Every woman in this book is so compelling. Saffy, Jenny, Shawna, LAVENDER, Hazel, Lila.....I could go on. Prose was off the walls, I loved it.

I was a bit bummed that we didn't REALLY get a lot from Baby Packer/Ellis. I was also a little underwhelmed at the chapters Blue was in. Reading those chapters made me feel even more uncomfy with Ansel, I wasn't sure if he ever really liked Blue or if he was just sick. I guess he was both. I would have given anything for an Ansel and Lavender reunion. His theory was really interesting too.

Overall, super gripping. I'm glad I read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Child abuse

tattedtrashreader's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The books storytelling and execution were very well-done. I appreciated the rotating perspectives and how each character saw a different side of Ansel, including Ansel himself. I found it interesting that there’s an element of redemption for some of the characters and a stark lack for others. It really feels like the darker side of life, where things aren’t fair and not everyone gets their happily ever after. 

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is deeply triggering and is depressing at times. The narration paints a grey setting with very few lighthearted points in the plot. It needs a heavy trigger warning. I need a much lighter read after this one 😅 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse