Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

81 reviews

ember_is_gay's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was amazing, one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot wait to reread it. 

I really liked the focus on the women from throughout his life. I think they are so often forgotten; even when they have been the direct victims of the crime. They easily slip away into just another women who was killed by a man while a lot of serial killers became infamous and who we see movies made about and who people obsess over and fall in love with. But then there are the women we don't even think about who have been impacted by these men. And to see and hear from them (even fictional) was so amazing and so insightful. 

I also found the chapters about Ansel so well written and pieced together. They were such a good look into his brain and the way he thought about things. He was not just reduced to being a serial killer and I think it was a nice touch for exploring the complexity of humans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

rebeccadiv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is heartwrenching and hard to look at sometimes, but important nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

daepyonimst's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Addiction

autumnwhite's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

baileyanabella's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

5.0

Absolutely stunning writing by Danya Kukafka. What could have been an incredibly confusing mixture of stories from the perspective of four different people in completely different time frames, were masterfully written and intertwined with one another. You begin the story knowing its ending, but the ride there with the characters is what keeps you in your seat. Also features a diverse cast, including POC and LGBTQQ+ main characters. Their representation never feels forced, it is intrinsically involved in the plot and their personal development. I ate this up, and I can't think of anything I didn't like about it. Kukafka doesn't miss a beat!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

Maybe to no one's surprise because of the title, but there is a detailed first-person description of an execution, of the desire to stay alive but being forced to die. I've never read anything like it, so it's something to be aware of when going in. Ansel is pathetic and dies pathetically.

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-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

There are millions of men out there who want to hurt women - people seem to think that Ansel Packer is extraordinary, because he actually did. 

This book was amazing! Yes it's incredibly dark and it hurts but it is so skillfully written and immersive and makes so much sense, I am pretty much in awe. The cover also makes so much sense when you read it and that's really cool. I didn't give it 5 stars because of a principle I have, if animals get unnecessarily hurt or die in a story, it isn't 5 stars,but yeah otherwise I fully recommend it. It really gives you a new perspective on the obsession people have with murderers or serial killers specifically - is the murderer really the most important thing about that? Is it most interesting, what made them like this? How their psyche works? What would be if they wouldn't have made those decisions? How they impacted the people around them and vice versa? 
The book is not pro death penalty or police it shows flaws in the system, it also isn't against reporting on serial killers, it is just in some ways a comfort, hope, warning and another perspective from death row as well as from impacted outsiders left behind and I think that is all it should be. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lau_leo's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was an absolute stunner. The writing was beautiful and the structure of the storytelling was just *so* the right way to do it that I felt spoiled with every page. Every character felt extremely real to me both in good and bad ways. This book asked so many questions and challenged me with every new piece of information. I loved the focus on the women affected by the main character's actions in this story as opposed to just the pov of the perpetrator and the themes that surrounded them. This was the most solid read that I've read in a long time. Absolutely brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sawshiwen's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Stalking, Murder, and Abandonment