Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

7 reviews

tanilian's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I honestly have no idea what I just read...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Gaslighting, Infertility, Sexual content, and Body horror

Minor: Xenophobia and War

miraclesnow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is made to be messy. As someone with a cursory interest in ethics, Octavia Butler made the Oankali truly alien in ways that go beyond their exteriors, while still feeling like sentient individuals. Nothing about this book is simple and it’s such a good way of making you think about not very common topics. I feel like I’m in knots just trying to parse everything that happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Infertility, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: War, Child death, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Car accident

Minor: Cancer

blazingquill's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a disturbing read that creates a horrific story about breaches in consent and the abuse of colonization. It asks the question, “what are you able to do when you’re helpless?” then weaves a complex answer considering love, hate, and resistance. It’s a story that could not have come from another author, and I think is an important read. 

That being said, despite its discussion of gender, it maintains a very cis and straight perspective throughout, which effected my reading of the book. There is also a very complex relationship that edges into both abuse and pedophilia that I think was intended to be read as disturbing but I know could be interpreted differently. Heavy content warnings as well for: nonconsensual procedures, noncon relationships, rape, forced sterilization, and sensory deprivation torture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Rape, Xenophobia, Cancer, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Violence, and Cancer

Minor: Genocide, Incest, War, Child death, Car accident, Infertility, and Torture

impla77's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a very complex book.. I have to say I love the complicated dynamics of family structures in Butler’s books, but can’t really connect to the interpersonal relationships. This book is I feel quite depressing in the end, with a focus on consent that repeatedly gets violated by the aliens and a general feeling of hopelessness in Lilith’s situation.

I would say that I’m not really sure I liked the direction the plot went with. It seems like there are timeskips where explanation of what happened would probably be beneficial, and again would help in making me believe these relationships between the characters. Overall a very interesting read and I will continue the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Rape, and Infertility

Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Cancer

mizelse's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Xenophobia, Genocide, Abandonment, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Cursing, and Infertility

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Eins der faszinierendsten Bücher, die ich je gelesen habe. Ein Science-Ficton Buch, dass unglaublich wichtig Themen in der Gesellschaft durch einen neuen  Blickwinkel anspricht: Geschlecht/Gender/Sex, sexuelle Gewalt und körperliche Autonomie, romantische Beziehungen, Kolonisierung, Hierarchien in der Gesellschaft und Ausgrenzung. 
Es ist unglaublich gut geschrieben. Manchmal weiß man nicht was richtig oder falsch, was gut was böse und was gerechtfertigt und was unverzeihlich ist. 
Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert, man sollte sich aber vorher die Triggerwarings anschauen.
Die deutsche Übersetzung ist ganz okay, sollte aber bezüglich der Pronomen nochmal überarbeitet werden.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racism, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Rape, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Infertility, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Grief, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Death, and Cancer

eaird's review

challenging fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Infertility, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Cancer