Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

10 reviews

bookdragonkatie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Child abuse

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Suicide, and Pregnancy

karmapen's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

sydapel's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

 For me, this is an issue of form rather than subject matter. Perhaps because I was reading this knowing it would become a movie, but I struggled heavily with how limited this feels textually, particularly as it's through a male perspective. Which I know is part of the point, and I would have fun arguing about that in an English classroom. 

If you're looking for an really profound philosophical debate about faith, forgiveness, guilt, anger and difficult choices that women living in deeply patriarchal societies face, this excels. It's hard to digest, especially knowing it's based on reality, so please do check trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Excrement and Blood

ismerene's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

My review will echo others. In short, this is an deadened, back-and-forth circular discussion on the topic of whether to leave or stay in light of horrific abuse, all viewed through a religious Mennonite lens. The story throws some jabs, and the ending did pull some heartstrings, but ultimately I'm left confused and annoyed.

I think the biggest misstep in this novel that cascaded into other issues is the method of which the story is told. No speech is direct. Everything, save for our narrator, is spoken in passive statements, and it serves to deaden a lot of emotion about the situation at hand, as well as removing a large bit of personality from each character. There were a few moments of creepy, chill-up-your-spine implications and sudden, graphic depictions - all of which had heavier impact due to the otherwise banal narration - but overall it only served to turn much of the story into a slog.

The narrator's gender didn't bother me as much as his long-winded inserts did. Separate from him explaining certain cultural nuances, the insert of his background or his encounters outside the meeting felt frustrating. What really chapped my hide however were the comments and odes about one character he pines for. In the context of what this novel is centered on, it comes across as almost... creepy. It's all soft and emotional, but like, she's pregnant because she was raped. I'm not sure if this is to grow the narrator's character, or to illustrate a statement on men overall, but either way it was, also, annoying. 

Based on other reviews, it seems as if the choices made here were stylistic, in which case I can confidently say the style is not for me. I think if this had been handled a bit differently, and maybe some choices - in narrator, particularly - were changed, this would be rated much higher. As it stands however, I didn't much care for it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

hinkleh's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Incest

carlytenille's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Child abuse

kimveach's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense 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? Yes

3.75

This is a weird little book.  It really is about women talking during a two-day meeting.  I found it strangely compelling, though.  I can't decide if I want to see the movie or not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Violence, Child abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

vixenreader's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A text that that gives a humanizing insight on a community that is not as closely examined as it should be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Alcoholism

There is a lot of information about Mennonite culture and the story adhering to the assault of the women such community. Please read at your own discretion.

crosberg's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

This is the best book I've read this year (so far).  I'm glad I went in knowing the basic plot, because it definitely deserves a bunch of content warnings and isn't for the faint of heart.  But both the writing itself and the structure, how the story was told, were absolutely masterful.  The perspective choices, the character backgrounds, the jokes and small details, every single choice that Toews made elevates it to the absolute height of what the book is capable of.  The pacing is perfect, tight without being unforgiving.  When I finished reading it I had to lay down on the floor and stare at the ceiling for a while so I could process.  An absolute masterpiece.  But please please do pay attention to the content warnings, this book speaks about some of the most difficult subjects I've ever read about in a book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual content

dhrutigopaluni's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

2.25

I had a hard time rating or reviewing this book because on the one hand, I was invested enough to read through the end, but on the other hand, it employs my least favorite writing mechanism. I really struggle with authors who choose to fictionalize a historical occurrence, especially one that is so traumatic. Unless there is explicit documentation, we do not necessarily know how the actual figures felt or what they thought, and to put words in their mouths or their minds seems to me to be vastly disrespectful. I also did not understand or care for the inclusion of the male narrator’s weird obsession with Ona - what was the point of that? I also thought it odd that August was translating all of the dialogue into english for transcription. Why translate in the first place, and why into English? If this originally occurred in Bolivia, and the purpose was to make the minutes more accessible, why wasn’t it translated into Spanish? And if we are to assume that the author has relocated the communities for the purpose of this book, what was the point of that? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt