Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

5 reviews

30something_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

4.75

 I am at an utter loss for words. This was incredible. It was deeply unsettling. I couldn't sleep last night.

I'm so torn between wanting to pick up the next book immediately but also needing 2-3 business days to process everything that happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Violence

Minor: Cursing, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and War

vigil's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

so intriguing and against all odds, enticing, despite also being deeply horrifying. ms butler loves to make you uncomfortable, and by god does she do it here. i liked how butler really keenly portrayed the bond that occurs between a victim and abuser(s)

and how often sexual assault is used as a way to create that tether

and was able to sketch out the appeal that can exist in that relationship for a victim against all odds.

lilith and nikanji are both very sympathetic yet also ambiguous figures (nikanji, more so, but lilith is beginning to gain on it towards the end) who's attachment to one another is very clear to the reader. the ethics of consent is something i've long been interested in and i'm intrigued by how its explored here, even if i don't necessarily agree with the alien's conclusions.

i'd say my one complaint was that

this book is rather essentialist. its from 1987 so like, yeah obviously but i would've liked more exploration on it in a world building point of view. the onakali's essentialism didn't quite bother me, it fit with the attitudes the book potrayed them with but i would've liked a deeper explanation into it. what about onakali's who don't fit into the frame work of male-female-ooloi pairings? what in the culture or history led them here. but considering this book was founded off of octavia butler assuming something was wrong with humans in our genetics, i'm not too sure that's the aim of the book.

very dismayed at octavia butler becoming one of those black author's everyone quotes but never reads and posits as a moralizing figure here to teach ignorant white people. she's not one for moralizing and isn't trying to preach an agenda. many of her focuses lie in the frequent eroticism in fraught and distressing topics. this is because octavia butler at her core was a fucking freak. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Misogyny, Violence, Rape, Genocide, Colonisation, Confinement, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Blood

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

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