Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

30 reviews

thegr1mreader's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

SO SAD I AM NOT OKAY AND WILL NEVER RECOVER

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Trafficking, Blood, Ableism, Gaslighting, Gore, and War

Minor: Self harm

marifly98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit

spookystag's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Rape and Sexual content

Minor: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Incest

It's a retelling of Greek mythology, so readers with certain sensitivities should know what they are getting into!

ntvenessa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Oh my heart. Despite knowing this was a Greek tragedy, Miller's storytelling constantly kept me turning pages in hope. The character development of Patroclus and Achilles was especially well done and readers will appreciate the nuance and care invested. The writing balanced both a prophetic and tender voice, willing the story along and keeping you invested. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, although it will scrape at your heartstrings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Transphobia, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment and Emotional abuse

Minor: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship

allthewords's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

dani007k's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cursing and Incest

paigelen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, War, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Incest

millymemories's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

beautifully written, i felt immersed entirely into the wonders and simple pleasures of greek life/mythology. the writing was phenomenal, being written from Patroclus’ perspective was refreshing and

heartbreaking towards the end of the book

. i adored the relationship and the natural progression it took as the two grew together and closer. i’m so glad madeline didn’t wash down the adoration and pure love between the two, yet embraced it. i loved the settings in the first half of the book; Peleus palace of princes in training, Chiron’s holistic training during a summer in the rose quartz cave, and the glorious countryside of figs, creeks, and olive trees. The second half was difficult to enjoy, in terms of setting as the Roman coast had little to imagine. The characters I loved the most were Patroclus, his development from a naive, weak and disrupted child, to a warm, skilled and brave man was a delight to read. His sacrifice and love for Achilles was warming and heartbreaking, as

Achilles deteriorated in front of his eyes

this love did not fade. Achilles character was beautifully constructed, yet hard to endorse in the final years. Achilles desire to be honoured and fury to be loved by the Gods and mortals, tore him away from his beloved and only discovered this as it was too late. Another character that I felt was incredible, was Madelines depiction  of Thetis; a furious, cruel sea nymph who at her core only wanted the best for her mortal son,

bored from her womb as a outcome of savage assault

. The final scenes of Thetis, showed a humility that can be seen through the book, underneath the pale translucent grey skin and behind her black dripping hair. As a goddess she showed humbled Patroclus, as per usual, but gave him the greatest honour and all that he ever wanted. Honestly, the most heartbreaking, tragic retelling but immensely beautiful and i completely adored reading this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Incest, Gore, Grief, Death, Child death, Blood, Animal death, and Abandonment

The upsetting content in this book is fitting with the setting and is not included for unnecessary addition, but to give a well rounded understanding of the time in which it was written, and how normal this behaviour and actions were.

wthanyell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

“I could recognise him by touch alone, by smell, I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."

Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.

Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10

Overall: 4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts

abbie52923's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. The author has a lovely way with words, which makes reading feel smooth and lyrical. I know this story, however, so was not surprised at the ending. Perhaps had I not known it prior I would have liked it more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood