Reviews tagging 'Death'

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

18 reviews

alyssa2012's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Slavery, Incest, Infidelity, and Self harm

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Fire/Fire injury

maxgold's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

I want to note that the characters are not diverse in the sense they are all Mennonite (presumably white or at least all the same race) women. But they’re diverse in the sense of views and personalities. Meaning incredibly diverse in those sense. The author really does an incredible job at showing how not all people in a religious cult are going to think in the same way. Their motives are all similar, yet their drive is very diverse. Their reactions are diverse. It really dirigés the book I think.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Minor: Transphobia, Suicide, and Death

rosalind's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Death and Drug abuse

laceystairs's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Wow! This book was not what I was expecting. It is heartbreaking and also somehow hopeful. Exploring the options of a group of women as they come up with possible solutions to a devastating problem which has been affecting their community. The female relationships in this story are the center and the soul of the book, but it is also about how the women relate to the men, children, and outside world around them. I think that everybody should read this book, even though it deals with difficult subject matter. It's important. It's a story that needs to be shared.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Incest

sterlingreads's review

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, Child abuse, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

chromiumboron's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Ent moot but with Mennonite women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Child abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Incest, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Suicide and Gun violence

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

gmjohnson's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Astonishing read, I felt like I really connected with the characters and sympathised with them all. Toews has compassionately written a complex cast of characters in which each of them have their own unique views on the situation they’re in. I laughed and cried throughout the whole book, but ultimately felt hope for the women as their story grew. Definitely my all time favourite book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, and Death of parent

cait's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Dementia, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

cassie7e's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I picked this up after a neighbor highly recommended the film. This book was hard for me given the subject matter of the inciting incident, but had much questioning and discussion that I found enriching and important to think about. I loved the characterizations of each woman and girl, how their ages and personalities played into their behaviors and dialogue. Some people dislike that it's women talking in circles but (as per the title) that is the point; the story witnesses women taking control, thinking and talking for themselves, challenging each other, and this is how decision making happens. It felt real and not at all superficial. So don't read this if you need books to have concrete plot.

Some may also dislike that it's narrated by a man, and that the "minutes" are more of a transcript. 

I'm surprised that so many reviews disliked the religious focus of the discussions when it's clearly about Mennonite women, people in an explicitly religious colony separated from the rest of the world. Of course religious questions will be of primary concern for these women! And I did not see them as cold and inadequately outraged - they are seriously discussing actions that defy their entire social structure as a result of the atrocity they experienced, and as many trauma victims, are detaching themselves from the feelings so they can make decisions without shutting down and losing their opportunity to make a choice at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit, Death, and Miscarriage

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

An interesting take and fictionalization on true events. I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, given all the hype the movie has gotten, but I flew through this in a weekend. The writing was excellent, although I never felt particularly moved or emotional while reading. This was a slow paced, not plot heavy book without use of quotations. All of those things worked together well for me and lent well to the themes, but I can understand why those factors would turn some readers off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Sexism

Moderate: Death and Domestic abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts