Reviews tagging 'War'

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

24 reviews

sburchart's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, War, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Rape, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Body shaming

garnethalo's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

A beautiful Greek Myth retold. From the eyes of Penelope and the twelve maids, you won't see Odysseus the same way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Murder, Death, War, Rape, Blood, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Grief, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol and Body shaming

It's a Greek Myth Reimagined. Expect content warnings related to Greek Tragedies.

cepbreed's review

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

I first fell in love with Penelope after reading Emily Wilson’s version of The Odyssey. I say this with a tad bit of shame but it’s the only play or epic I’ve read all the front matter for. I loved The Odyssey when I was a freshman in high school and I loved it even more after Wilson’s interpretation. I’m all for un-deifying Odysseus which is what attracted me to The Penelopiad. All of this build up and genuine interest in the character did me no good while reading this book. I just felt like Atwood’s interpretation fell flat for me. I loved the inclusion of the twelve maids’ voices and the theory of Penelope as “female-goddess cult leader,” but everything else was nothing new. Maybe it’s all the praise Atwood gets and the richer Penelope centered readings that have come out in the past few years. I still really enjoyed this though; I was reading another Penelope focused novel but I DNFd it because it was so boring. Finishing a book is the bare minimum but it says something. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and War

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, Gore, War, Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Classism, Physical abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: War, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Vomit, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping and Infidelity

ajs279's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, War, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, War, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Classism

lizzym126's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Grief, Abandonment, Infidelity, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: War and Violence

leazzz's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Blood, War, Trafficking, Sexism, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, Grief, Abandonment, Violence, and Death

sas_ram's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I don't know what I expected. But after hearing so many praises about Margaret Atwood I was looking forward to it. I can't seem to like her humour though. I also detested Penelope as a main character. The plot is also flat (yes I'm aware that is based on mythology). I also didn't like the modern elements, the narration structure...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Murder, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: War

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Murder, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and War